Trevor Rogers Will Be Given Chance To Earn Starting Spot in Spring Training

After a brutal stretch last season, the Baltimore Orioles will give Trevor Rogers a chance to earn a starting rotation spot.

Aug 7, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Trevor Rogers (28) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Rogers Centre / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Ahead of the trade deadline this past season, the Baltimore Orioles were more aggressive than they've been in the past.

Knowing they likely only had Corbin Burnes for one year, the front office wanted to give this team every chance possible to compete for a World Series title after their rotation was decimated by injuries that negatively impacted how they performed in the second half.

One of the notable moves they made was to acquire Trevor Rogers from the Miami Marlins.

Right now, that trade looks like a disaster considering the Orioles sent out two of their top prospects, Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers, and Rogers was sent down to the minors after a horrendous four starts that saw him give up 15 earned runs in 19 innings pitched.

The left-hander played better down the stretch in Triple-A, giving the organization confidence he can be a factor for them in 2025 and beyond.

General manager Mike Elias spoke about Rogers and the possibility he's pitching in Baltimore next season, stating he'll have an opportunity to compete for a rotation spot during Spring Training.

"We definitely want to bring a lot more than five pitchers into spring training. As we all know, there's no way that holds up over a full season and you kind of want to have eight or nine starters in a competition most spring trainings, and he'll be right in the mix there," he said per Roch Kubatko of MASN.

How long of a leash he'll have will be seen.

The Orioles worked with him on certain things during his time in Triple-A, and while the immediate impact wasn't there, he seemed to turn the corner.

Elias also gave his thoughts on why he thought Rogers struggled the way he did after they acquired him.

"I think we knew when we traded for him, the innings totals that he reached in 2024 were a lot higher than what he had done in previous seasons, and that can lead to some guys running out of gas down the stretch. Now that he's got that big innings platform from this year and he's further removed from his injuries, I'm hopeful that we're gonna see a good version of him in spring training," he added.

The injuries have greatly impacted Rogers' career.

After finishing runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021, he struggled the following season before being shut down with a lat strain. 2023 was impacted even more with injuries, only starting four games before a biceps strain landed him on the 15-day injured list and an eventual 60-day transfer that ended his year.

Baltimore is hoping he can find the form that produced a 2.64 ERA and 160 ERA+ during his rookie season.

If not, the trade is going to continue looking worse and worse.