One pitcher changed everything in one year

Trevor Rogers and the slim gap between an ace and a Triple-A wreck

The Opener

1. The Tigers organization and its related business arm are “not a place women can feel safe,” according to a wide-ranging new investigation from The Athletic. The report details an array of allegations of misconduct toward women that led to six recent departures, including the April resignation of a prominent assistant GM, and raises questions about ongoing problems in Detroit.

2. Kyle Schwarber hit his 50th homer of the season. The beloved slugger, a free agent to be, is only the second Phillies hitter to reach the mark, joining Ryan Howard.

3. The Blue Jays placed Bo Bichette on the injured list with a sprained knee, robbing them of one of the second half’s hottest bats as they try to hang on to the AL East and the top postseason seed.

How the Orioles' Trevor Rogers put on his ace pants

By Zach Crizer

How well did your pants fit this morning? Compared to last time you wore them, were they a little looser? Little tighter? How about compared to when you bought them? Did you notice at all?

Here’s the thing with pitching: That’s the kind of barely visible change that makes the difference between major-league ace and Triple-A scrub, apparently. The kind of thing that turns a lopsided trade into a time-capsule blockbuster. The kind of thing that swings teams’ fortunes and pennant races.

In an introductory meeting this offseason at Driveline Baseball, one of the prominent performance labs that traffics in extreme makeovers for pro players, lefty starter Trevor Rogers’ agent reportedly told the trainers that his client “filled out his pants” better when he was making his name as an All-Star and Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021.

After coming up with the Marlins, Rogers had slipped to where he looked like an overly clever Orioles trade pickup at the 2024 trade deadline, then slipped further, fast. He crashed out in four brutal post-trade starts for Baltimore, posting a 7.11 ERA that got him demoted to Triple-A, where he skidded to a 5.65 ERA in five more starts. Thus, the hunt for a problem small enough to miss but big enough to inflate an ERA beyond recognition.

Driveline’s tests confirmed his agent’s observation in some sort of weird ouroboros Moneyball moment. Don’t worry about “selling jeans” while you’re scouting baseball players, but maybe do think about it when training them. Rogers’ strength, particularly in his lower body, lagged way behind a typical major leaguer. He told Foul Territory that back issues had discouraged him from lifting weights, and over time the changes in his routine led to withering velocity and results.

“It was like ‘Thank God.’ I was thankful we found a problem,” Rogers told Travis Sawchik. “If we didn’t find a problem, I was going to be like ‘What do we do now?’ It was more of a relief. This is what is causing the issue, the dip in velocity.”

If you haven’t been following along with the 2025 Orioles, fair, but let me tell you: Rogers addressed the problem.

After a delayed start to the season due to injury, the 27-year-old has completely reframed the trade that brought him to Baltimore for breakout star Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby. He has a 1.51 ERA across 15 starts, firing seven or more innings in seven of them. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in a start since June.