Trevor Rogers says Orioles top list for an extension but he avoids midseason talks

Trevor Rogers stood near the back of the room, taking in the scene of another news conference celebrating the long-term contract extension for one of his Orioles teammates.

On the dais, Orioles owner David Rubenstein declared to the players gathered that, if they’d like to come together for a deal of their own, they should talk to president of baseball operations Mike Elias.

“Any of the players that are here, that are listening to us and want to talk to Mike, he’s here,” Rubenstein said, glancing over to Elias.

Rogers, the left-handed starter who has pitched like an ace for much of the last two seasons, knows where Elias is. Rogers is set to become a free agent at the end of this season. He has not been shy about expressing his desire to remain in Baltimore longer.

On Saturday, Rogers discussed his status with The Banner. His agent, Dave Matranga, opted against commenting beyond what Rogers said. Elias, when asked about Rogers, declined to comment.

Although Rogers said the Orioles haven’t approached him about a new deal, he said this wouldn’t be the right time for those discussions anyway. When Rogers hits the open market this winter, however, the Orioles would be “top of the list, for sure.”

“It’s tough during the year,” Rogers said. “I don’t really like to have that type of conversation during the season, because I want to be strictly focused on baseball and they, you know, deadline coming up, they’re focused on other things. So I really just try to keep it there, and if there’s an opportunity to have it at some point, I’m all ears, but I’m really just focused on the job at hand.”

Rogers, who is making $6.2 million this year, is doing very well on the job at hand. Since June, his ERA is 1.80 in nine games. He dealt with a nasty bout of flu that sapped his weight and energy, leading to an early-season blip. But on the whole Rogers has proven himself to be far from a fluke.

He finished ninth in American League Cy Young Award voting last year with a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts. Combining these two seasons, Rogers appears to be one of the best left-handed starters in the majors. His ERA+ over that time, a statistic that measures pitching value and marks 100 as league average, is 140 (meaning he has been about 40% better than average).

Should the Orioles decide to sell at the deadline, Rogers would figure to be of strong interest. Even if Baltimore holds on to him, his free-agent market this winter will likely be ripe. He is only 28 and has improved with time, capturing his best form since arriving in Baltimore.

Rogers said he and his agent have discussed his openness to an extension in Baltimore. But, with the season in play, Rogers is putting aside those thoughts. He learned from his early years with the Miami Marlins how paying attention to his contract situation can impact his pitching performances if he lets it.

“I had those times where I thought it was going to happen there, and I was like, ‘I want to get this done, I want to get this done,’” Rogers said. “And I start worrying about that instead of taking care of what I need to do at the field.”

Rogers said he didn’t receive an official offer from the Marlins, but the chatter drew his attention.

“Being a young guy, I was like, ‘Oh my God, let’s do this. Let’s do this,’” Rogers said. “And nothing really came of that, and I learned my lesson that I need to pump the brakes, it’s a business, and it takes time to sort things out. And my agent is like, it takes time, just keep doing what you’re doing, control what you can control.”

That has led Rogers to approach this contact discussion with a more detached mindset, even though he has mentioned multiple times in postgame interviews that he’d love to work with catcher Samuel Basallo for years to come.

“I think the best way about it is me focusing on what I need to do, and pitch as well as I can, so he [his agent] can do his job the best he can in free agency in the offseason,” Rogers said. “As soon as this season ends, whenever that may be, and they [the Orioles] have an offer on the table, I’m going to be all ears. They’re going to be No. 1 on my list. Whether they’ve heard it or not heard it, they know how much I like it here. Definitely will be eyes and ears open if they come to the table, for sure.”

The Orioles have extended the contracts of three homegrown players in the last year: Basallo and right-handers Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz. They also gave a hefty five-year deal to first baseman Pete Alonso in free agency. They have shown more openness to spending.

Rogers would make sense for a long-term deal, be it before free agency or once he hits the open market. The deal, of course, would need to reflect fair market value.

“That’s when the business of baseball comes out, and that’s my least favorite part of this game,” Rogers said. “It needs to make sense for both sides and both sides need to be happy but, hopefully, stay focused right now and get to where we need to get to, and all that will take care of itself.”

In the back of the room last week during Bradish’s extension news conference, Rogers heard what Rubenstein said. He feels he has made his stance clear to the Orioles. So for now he’ll go on pitching until something happens.

“I don’t even really think about it. I think about it but not in the sense of, ‘Oh, it’s my turn.’ That’s a brutal way to think about it,” Rogers said. “I think about it like, Shane and Kyle got life-changing money, and that’s what the game is all about, and that’s awesome. At the end of the day, I’m getting paid really well to play a game right now, and I’m very happy with that.”