The Baltimore Orioles are not expected to be buyers at this year's MLB trade deadline. But on Thursday, they made an interesting move to acquire some catching depth from the Detroit Tigers.
The Orioles traded for the recently DFA'd backup catcher Jake Rogers after both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo recently landed on the IL. The two young star catchers have been on the IL since July 19th and 20th, respectively, with wrist and shoulder injuries. Neither has been able to return to baseball activities.
In the meantime, Baltimore has been piecing together their catching situation with names like Chadwick Tromp, Sam Huff, and Yohel Pozo. Rogers joins that group as the veteran with the most MLB action, and certainly more offensive upside.
Rogers has spent all six years of his career with the Tigers and was a surprise DFA earlier this week when the team activated Javier Baez from the IL. The Tigers will go with All-Star catcher Dillon Dingler and youngster Eduardo Valencia for the remainder of their push for a playoff spot in the AL Wild Card race.
The move is an interesting one for the Orioles ahead of the August 3rd MLB trade deadline. Rutschman's name has been linked to several contenders, including the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. Rogers has proven to be a capable big-league backup, so one has to wonder if the Orioles would part with Rutschman if they received a strong offer.
Any trade is complicated by his IL status, but Rutschman has proven himself to be an All-Star-caliber player, while not quite living up to the potential of being the first overall pick in his draft.
In return, the Orioles sent minor league RHP Zane Barnhart to the Tigers. Barnhart, 24, was drafted in the 17th round of the 2023 MLB Draft and will report to Double-A Erie upon completion of the trade.
