Detroit – How do you reach journeyman status in less than three weeks?
Jake Rogers knows exactly how.
“It’s been crazy,” he said. “A whirlwind to say the least.”
If you haven’t been following, Rogers was designated for assignment by the Tigers on July 28. He was traded to Baltimore, played three games for the Orioles and was traded to the Red Sox.
Four days and three games later, he was designated for assignment and, a day later, claimed by the White Sox.
“It’s been fun to meet some news guys and kind of bounce around,” he said. “But it’ll be good to get to settle in here with Chicago. Kind of a full turnaround, playing my first game with them in Detroit. Of course it would happen like that.”
As always, Rogers presented an upbeat and energetic face to the media. But this experience has been a bit of a face-slap. The Tigers decision to let him go, primarily to clear playing time for Eduardo Valencia, stung.
“It was a tough conversation,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve been here most of my career. It’s a sore spot and it was tough. But we got through it. Thankfully, it helped that it happened late (after the Tigers beat the Orioles) and most of the guys were gone. I got to say goodbye to a few guys and I got some texts the next day, which made it a little easier.”
He went to Baltimore thinking he would finish the season there.
“They were like, hey, excited to have you,” Rogers said. “I figured I was going to be there.”
Then, on Aug. 3, the Orioles packaged him with catcher Adley Rutschman in a trade to the Red Sox. Rogers knew his stay in Boston would be short.
“It was a shock when they traded me with Adley,” he said. “So when I got to Boston, I figured it would be a quick one.”
Rutschman was coming back from an injury. Rogers figured he was just holding his place until he got back. Which turned out to be the case.
“Just being in the game for a little bit, I figured once he came back they’d have to make a move and it seemed like that move was me,” he said. “(President Craig) Breslow and everybody in Boston couldn’t have been nicer and handled that situation perfectly.”
While wearing the Red Sox uniform, Rogers helped them beat the White Sox in a thrilling 13-12, 13-inning game. A week later, he’s behind the plate for the White Sox at Comerica Park.
“It’s very weird,” he said. “It’s full-circle. Baseball has a weird way of explaining itself sometimes.”
The tricky part is getting his catcher gear shipped to the proper location on time.
“I’m wearing navy (blue) gear tonight, I hope nobody minds,” he said. “I’m having trouble getting my stuff in on a weekend. I owe something to (former Orioles’ catcher) Chadwick Tromp. I wore his gear for the couple of games in Baltimore. My gear got to Boston just in time for me to get sent out.”
From Detroit back home to Dallas after he was DFA’d. From Dallas to Baltimore when he got traded. From Baltimore to Boston. Then, after being DFA’d while the team was in Toronto, he couldn’t get a flight out and had to wait to the next day to fly back home to Dallas.
One day later, he was on a flight to Detroit to join the White Sox.
“A lot of flying around and a lot of mileage points, for sure,” he said.
And a lot of pitchers to learn on the fly.
“The staff members for each organization have been incredibly helpful and the catchers in each organization have helped me through it, too,” Rogers said. “I have a lot of people to thank. The craziest thing is trying to learn each guy’s tendencies and what they like to throw. You can look at it on paper but it means more coming from the guys and catching them one or two times to learn it.
“It’s been a school of hard knocks situation, but we’re making our way through it.”
He didn’t have much time to catch up with his former teammates across the way before the game Saturday. But he figured there would be plenty of time for banter when they step in the box.
“I don’t know if anybody is going to be able to look at me,” Rogers said with a chuckle. “I’m going to try to get them to not concentrate as much. I will be messing around with them. We’ll see how it goes.”
The crowd of 33,119 at Comerica Park stood and cheered when Rogers stepped to the plate in the second inning. Tigers’ starter Troy Melton stepped off the mound to give Rogers extra time to bask in the moment.
“That was awesome,” Melton said. “He meant a lot to everybody in this locker room. It can’t be overstated how important he was. Just personally, for me, he helped me become a major leaguer. He’s a big part of this room, a big leader. It was cool to see the fans show appreciation for that because a lot of what he did you really didn’t see from the outside.”
If you are human, you can’t help but root for Rogers. He was one of foundation pieces of this current playoff-contending Tigers team. He was the regular catcher in 2024, when they roared into the postseason for the first time in a decade. He caught every start of Tarik Skubal’s first Cy Young season. He caught every inning of the postseason that year.
“It was great to see our crowd respect Jake,” manager AJ Hinch said. “He has so much respect around this clubhouse, the team, the staff, everybody loves Jake. I applaud our fanbase for acknowledging the time he spent here.”
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Jake Rogers’ wild and wacky journey lands him back at Comerica Park
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris McCosky, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
