Baltimore Orioles Trade Deadline Flop Could Become Major Factor During Playoffs

The Baltimore Orioles could still turn to their trade deadline acquisition at some point despite him being a disappointment during his tenure.

Aug 13, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Trevor Rogers (28) greeted by catcher Adley Rutschman (35) after the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Entering Spring Training, the Baltimore Orioles looked to have one of the most complete rosters in Major League Baseball despite being led by young players across multiple positions.

After they won 101 games in 2023 and secured the top seed in the American League, there was little reason to doubt they might put together a similar performance this season, especially after they landed Corbin Burnes to become the ace of their starting staff.

Injuries had other plans, sidelining multiple Opening Day pitchers for the majority of this campaign that has had the Orioles treading water for much of the second half of the year.

Mike Elias and his front office tried to address those issues, trading for two starters at the deadline by way of veteran Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers.

One addition has been a home run, as Eflin sits with a 2.22 ERA and 5-2 record across his seven starts with the team, increasing his strikeout rate to 8.3 K/9 and keeping his walk rate low at 1.0 BB/9.

This output by the right-hander has been exactly what Baltimore needed, giving them another top-of-the-rotation arm to pair with Burnes while Grayson Rodriguez works his way back from his lat injury.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Rogers.

Since joining the Orioles, he posted a 7.11 ERA across his four starts, walking 10 batters compared to striking out 12 across his 19 innings pitched that saw him give up 24 hits.

Baltimore eventually optioned him to Triple-A, hoping he could find something down in the minors that would help him be part of this rotation going forward as they get ready for the playoffs.

While that might not happen, Rogers has shown some improvements the organization was hoping to see when they demoted him.

"... Rogers has registered three straight quality starts with 21 strikeouts to just four walks. The results have followed several mechanical changes to his delivery aimed at making his movements more athletic and fluid toward the plate ... The biggest project the Orioles have tasked Rogers with is improving his slider, a pitch he has thrown less often than any other in his repertoire each of the last two seasons ... So far, the results are striking. Opponents are hitting .167 against the pitch while swinging and missing a staggering 48.1% of the time. Over those three quality starts, nobody has touched it," writes Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun.

That is a huge positive for the Orioles and the starter under team control until 2026.

Rogers was acquired with the thought he would be a major part of the puzzle when the playoffs started, giving them someone in the rotation who was previously an All-Star in 2021 and looked like a future cornerstone of any starting staff.

For his part, the left-hander didn't report to Triple-A with a bad attitude according to pitching coach Justin Ramsey, instead he came down ready to work on things he needed to improve.

"He came down and was accountable. He knew he wasn't pitching the way he was capable of and he was ready to get to work. So, you always appreciate that. There was no hanging his head. There was no moping around. There was no blaming anybody but really himself and that he knows what he's capable of. He just wants to get back to doing it," he told Weyrich.

So far, he's done that.

If these performances are enough for him to get another opportunity to crack Baltimore's rotation in October will be seen, but it's a positive sign that he is finding his past form.