The Orioles made their first move of their trade deadline season by addressing their catching depth, which has been thinned through injuries to Samuel Basallo and Adley Rutschman.

Baltimore acquired catcher Jake Rogers from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor league right-hander Zane Barnhart, the team announced.

Rogers, 31, was recently designated for assignment. Baltimore jumped the waiver queue by offering a trade. Rogers, a longtime Tigers backstop, doesn’t bring much in terms of hitting to the equation. This season, he is batting .161 with a .567 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 31 games.

The Orioles have been on the hunt for catching depth. A source with knowledge of its deadline plans said Baltimore was involved in the market for catcher Logan O’Hoppe prior to the Los Angeles Angels trading him to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.

Advertise with us

Baltimore is expected to operate in a buy-and-sell mode, multiple sources said. The targets include bullpen additions and an outfielder, but the Orioles won’t feel pressured to dole out high prices.

Outfielder Taylor Ward, right-hander Andrew Kittredge and left-hander Trevor Rogers could all be available, sources said, although the qualifying offer possibility for Rogers and Ward could prompt the Orioles to hold on to them.

Jake Rogers hasn’t reported yet to the Orioles. Once he does, they will need to make a 26-man roster move. Baltimore has two catchers currently active: Yohel Pozo and Chadwick Tromp.

Basallo (shoulder) and Rutschman (left wrist) have yet to begin baseball activities. They’ll be evaluated this homestand, the Orioles said, to determine if and when they can begin swinging again.

Acquiring a catcher now helps cover for their absence, and it doesn’t rush Creed Willems, who is in Triple-A but is only just returning from the injured list. Willems is hitting .261 with a .788 OPS in 75 games for the Norfolk Tides.

Advertise with us

Barnhart, the minor league pitcher headed to Detroit, is in Double-A. The Towson native was selected in the 17th round of the 2023 draft from Hillsdale College in Michigan. He holds a 4.05 ERA in 40 relief innings.

Rogers has been left-hander Tarik Skubal’s personal catcher for years. After Rogers was designated for assignment Tuesday, Skubal told reporters in Detroit that he “helped guide and navigate me to my first Cy Young.”

Skubal, who started Wednesday against the Orioles, is expected to be the biggest name available at this trade deadline. Reuniting with Rogers in Baltimore, however, would be a massive shock. The Orioles don’t appear to be in the running for him.

Rogers’ defensive metrics have taken a step back this season, but in his career, he has been a strong catcher. If Rutschman and Basallo miss several more weeks (the club hasn’t offered a timeline, but they aren’t yet swinging and Basallo isn’t throwing), Rogers could be a stopgap solution with at least a little pop in his bat.