The Orioles introduced a collection of roster strikes as we speak. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera, just lately claimed off waivers, was added to the roster. Additionally they chosen the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman and recalled lefty Nick Vespi. To open spots for these three, they optioned left-hander Trevor Rogers, right-hander Colin Selby and infielder Liván Soto to Triple-A Norfolk. To open a 40-man spot for Bowman, lefty Bruce Zimmermann was designated for project.
Simply over three weeks in the past, the Orioles acquired Rogers from the Marlins in a pre-deadline commerce, sending kids Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers to Miami. The O’s have been having a robust season general however maintaining the rotation intact has been a problem. All three of Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells required surgical procedure to handle their respective ulnar collateral ligaments of their elbows earlier this 12 months. To bolster the group, they added each Zach Eflin and Rogers previous to the deadline.
It was a buy-low state of affairs with Rogers, who had posted a 2.64 earned run common with the Marlins in 2021 however struggled since. He handled varied accidents in 2022 and completed that 12 months with a 5.47 ERA. In 2023, he was solely capable of make 4 begins resulting from a left biceps pressure and a partial tear in his proper lat.
Right here in 2024, he was wholesome sufficient to remain on the mound, making 21 begins for the Fish previous to the deal. His velocity was down however the outcomes have been satisfactory, as he had a 4.53 ERA in these 21 outings. A couple of days after the deal, the lefty stated he had already acquired extra analytical data referring to his pitch combine and mechanics than throughout his total time with the Marlins, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner on X. Maybe the O’s felt there was a path to getting Rogers again to his 2021 kind through these analytics, or just him getting more healthy as he moved additional away from his accidents.
It has not gone to plan to date, as Rogers hasn’t fared effectively in his first 4 begins with the O’s. He has allowed 15 earned runs in 19 innings, resulting in a 7.11 ERA. His 13.3% strikeout fee and 11.1% stroll fee are each effectively beneath league common and nowhere close to his earlier work.
It appears the O’s have determined {that a} reset in Triple-A is so as. Maybe that can give him an opportunity to work on their advised tweaks in a lower-stakes surroundings. He can nonetheless be retained through arbitration for 2 extra seasons after this one, so that they have a while to determine a path ahead. This isn’t a service time manipulation state of affairs, as he already crossed 4 years of service time earlier this 12 months.
Nonetheless, it’s clearly lower than ideally suited for the membership to be subtracting certainly one of its key deadline pickups in the midst of a playoff race. The O’s are nonetheless in comfy place with a 74-54 document, simply half a recreation behind the Yankees within the East and presently possessing the highest Wild Card spot. However the Royals and Twins are simply 2.5 video games again and the Pink Sox path the O’s by solely six video games, so nothing is about in stone with greater than a month left to play.
The rotation continues to be a difficulty as now each Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are on the injured checklist, Eflin resulting from some shoulder discomfort and Rodriguez resulting from a lat pressure. With Rogers now deliberately faraway from the combination, the rotation is now all the way down to Corbin Burnes, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez, Cole Irvin and Cade Povich. Burnes is nice however there are many questions with the others. Kremer and Irvin are basically back-end guys, with the latter having been handed by way of waivers a number of weeks in the past, just lately being added again to the roster. Suárez retains placing up good numbers however is a 34-year-old journeyman who’s within the majors for the primary time since 2017. Povich has simply 9 main league begins and a 5.77 ERA in these.
Ideally, the membership will likely be hoping to get Rodriguez and Eflin again for the top of the common season after which the playoffs as effectively, however they must attempt to get by with this group for now. Maybe Rogers can even work his approach again into the combination with some fast changes within the minors, however he can’t be recalled for the subsequent 15 days except changing somebody occurring the injured checklist.
Extra to come back.
