SAN DIEGO—It would have been hard to imagine a year ago the turnaround by starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, who was sent to Triple-A Norfolk after his first four starts with the Orioles produced a 7.11 ERA.
This past August, Rogers’ ERA was nearly six runs lower, 1.29, and his hard work was rewarded with the American League Pitcher of the Month award.
“It means a lot, the journey I’ve been on the past couple of years, all the self-doubt and questioning things,” Rogers said.
The 27-year-old left-hander came to the Orioles at the 2024 trade deadline from Miami in exchange for Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby. The trade was immediately panned by Oriole fans, and when Rogers began this season on the injured list with a knee injury and Stowers slugged, the criticism was even louder.
“It’s a full-circle moment, getting back to where I knew I could, just being consistent every five days,” Rogers said. “It finally showed this last month. Very honored for this award, but we’ve still got another month of baseball left. Just trying to continue that and giving my team a chance every time I’m out there.”
In August, Rogers was 4-1, allowing just 30 hits in 42 innings, striking out 41, issuing only six walks and a single home run after not having a start until May 24th.
“That old saying, ‘it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,’” Rogers said. “You always focus on a strong finish, and taking it day-by-day, focusing on the controllables.”
Rogers was called up as the 27th man on May 24th and allowed two hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the night game of a split doubleheader. Since coming back to the Orioles on June 18th, Rogers has compiled an 8-2 record and a 1.39 ERA.
He’s done this for a team that’s not in contention and traded away a number of key veterans while experiencing a ton of injuries throughout the season.
“We had a down year this year. We didn’t meet expectations,” Rogers said. “We’ve still got to go out there and play hard and play for each other and continue to play the game the right way.”
Rogers could get some down-ballot Cy Young Award votes.
“The season that I’ve had and not being up here the whole year and being in consideration for those types of things, that’s an honor,” he said. “I’ve got four more starts.”
Rogers will start Saturday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers when the Orioles will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken passing Lou Gehrig for consecutive games played.
In 2021, Rogers was runner-up as National League Rookie of the Year and an All-Star with Miami, but until this season he hasn’t been able to duplicate that success.
“Deep down, I always had that belief I could get back to where I knew I could be,” he said. “At that time, it didn’t look like it could happen any time soon.
“I’m thankful for this organization, the plan that they had in place for me. They knew probably more than I did the plan they had in place would get me back to where I needed to be.”
Interim manager Tony Mansolino wasn’t surprised to learn of the award.
“I love his story,” Mansolino said. “I shared his story with the team yesterday … Electric arm, electric results, injuries, just whole career in a lot of ways, one foot on a cliff, one foot off.
“To see him come out of all the adversity he had, it’s awesome for Trevor, and it’s a great lesson to learn for a lot of our guys.”
Notes: Mansolino thinks that Tyler O’Neill, who’s on the injured list with a right wrist injury, will play again this season. He’s scheduled to take batting practice this weekend. “I think he will be on a rehab assignment, hopefully by next weekend, if all goes well, and then at that point, he’d be in line to play with the Orioles. … Jordan Westburg has been with the team on the West Coast, and Mansolino said his sprained left ankle is improving. “Everything is getting closer and closer, hoping he’s out on a rehab assignment in the next week.”
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