BOSTON -- At times over the past nine months, Trevor Rogers wasn’t sure if he still had it. He’s only 27, yet maybe his best baseball days were behind him. His tumultuous four-start stint with the Orioles last August took a toll on him mentally.
Perhaps his big league career would never get back on track.
“It just felt like I was putting the work in, but I kept going backwards,” Rogers said. “It’s a lot of self-doubt, if I need to find another career path, and that’s not a good place to be.”
On Saturday night at Fenway Park, Rogers took a massive step forward.
After taking a 6-5, 10-inning loss in Game 1 of a split doubleheader, the Orioles brought up Rogers to serve as the 27th man and start Game 2. The southpaw proceeded to turn in one of the best outings by an O’s starter in 2025, tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his first MLB appearance of the season during the Orioles’ 2-1 win over the Red Sox.
It was a much better showing than any of Rogers’ previous starts since being traded from Miami to Baltimore last July 30 amid the Orioles’ flurry of moves at the Trade Deadline.
In recent weeks, it started to appear as if the Marlins had perhaps decisively won a trade in which they received outfielder Kyle Stowers (who is raking this year) and infield prospect Connor Norby (who is beginning to find his footing). Meanwhile, Rogers had a 7.11 ERA during his brief time with the O’s last year, resulting in him being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
Rogers began this year on the injured list due to a right knee subluxation, then made five Minor League starts -- one for Double-A Chesapeake followed by four in Triple-A. He had posted an 8.10 ERA over 13 1/3 innings with Norfolk.
Then, Saturday arrived, and Rogers took advantage of a weather-induced opportunity.
“I was really happy for Trev and really happy for the Baltimore Orioles watching him pitch,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “Just everything that’s surrounding him, watching him maybe struggle a little bit last year when we got him and just kind of some of the flack that the organization got for him.
“We just saw a guy that looked pretty good to me.”
Rogers was quite good while carving up the Red Sox lineup. He gave up only two hits -- singles by Kristian Campbell in the second and seventh -- and retired 19 of the 22 batters he faced in the 87-pitch outing.
After his velocity dipped into the low 90s late last year, Rogers’ four-seam fastball averaged 93.3 mph on Saturday and maxed out at 95.6 -- the hardest pitch he’s thrown in an O’s uniform.
“The whole pitching department, we really just broke down mechanics and what I can improve on to try to get my velocity back, and I think we’re seeing that,” Rogers said. “I’m just really happy with where things are at right now.”
Rogers’ heater immediately caught the attention of catcher Maverick Handley, who was paired with the southpaw at times in Triple-A late last season.
“The first one, I caught it a little bit higher, a little bit more velo on it. I was like, ‘Oh [shoot], he’s ready to play today,’” Handley said. “Out of the get-go, the first ball that he threw, the first fastball I caught from him, it was from the beginning.”
Using a five-pitch mix that also features a changeup, slider, sinker and sweeper, Rogers collected five strikeouts and cruised for most of the night. It was reminiscent of his All-Star form from 2021, when he recorded a 2.64 ERA over 25 starts and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting for the Marlins.
After the doubleheader, the Orioles returned Rogers to Triple-A Norfolk. But it may not be long before he gets another opportunity to help a struggling staff that ranks 28th in MLB with a 5.72 rotation ERA.
He made a strong case. It was the second scoreless start by a Baltimore starter this year (along with Dean Kremer’s seven-inning gem vs. the Royals on May 2), and it was the second-longest scoreless start of Rogers’ MLB career, behind only a seven-inning showing against the Orioles on April 21, 2021.
Most importantly, it was a performance that proved to Rogers he still belongs.
“I think, in the back of my mind, I always knew what I could do,” Rogers said. “You go through life and life’s going to suck sometimes and you never know when it’s going to turn around, but I know for certain it’ll never turn around if I quit on myself.”