Seeking still another upgrade to their catching, the Orioles acquired Jake Rogers from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor league right-hander Zane Barnhart.
Rogers, who hasn’t reported, will need to be added to both the 26 and 40-man rosters. The right-handed hitter had been designated for assignment by the Tigers on Tuesday.
Originally drafted by the Houston Astros in the third round of the 2016 draft when Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias was making the selections, Rogers was traded in 2017 to the Tigers in the deal that brought Justin Verlander to the Astros.
This year, Rogers batted .161 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 34 games with Detroit. Over six seasons with the Tigers, Rogers hit .197 with a .649 OPS.
The Orioles’ top two catchers, Samuel Basallo and Adley Rutschman, remain on the 10-day injured list. Basallo is out with right shoulder inflammation, Rutschman with left wrist inflammation.
Currently, the Orioles have Chadwick Tromp and Yohel Pozo, who was acquired off waivers from St. Louis last week. Pozo replaced Sam Huff on the roster for the just-completed Tigers series. Huff, who’s been designated for assignment by the Orioles, hit just .121 (4-for-33) in 14 games. He struck out 19 times.
Tromp is hitting .125 (3-for-24) with an RBI while Pozo is 1-for-5 (.200) with an RBI. Pozo can be optioned to the minor leagues. Tromp has no options remaining.
The 31-year-old Rogers has thrown out 27.1 percent of runners attempting to steal, five points higher than league average.
Barnhart was the Orioles’ 17th-round draft choice in 2023 and was 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA and four saves in 31 games for Double-A Chesapeake this season.
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