Tigers catcher Jake Rogers underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of this season, manager A.J. Hinch announced to reporters, via Jason Beck of MLB.com. The recovery time for position players is generally shorter than that of pitchers, but Rogers is still expected to miss some time next season as he recovers.
One of the more highly regarded defensive catching prospects throughout his time in the minors, Rogers was traded to Detroit from the Astros in the August 2017 Justin Verlander blockbuster. He reached the big leagues in 2019 and has also logged some MLB action this season. Between the two years, the right-handed hitting Rogers owns just a .182/.264/.378 line with a massive 38% strikeout rate over 255 plate appearances.
Rogers has also rated poorly as a pitch framer in that rather limited time, according to Statcast. To his credit, though, he has been elite at shutting down the running game. Rogers has cut down 46.9% of attempted base-stealers, a mark that’s far better than the 24.6% league average.
Catching looks likely to be a priority for the Tigers this winter, but there aren’t many surefire starting-caliber options available in free agency. Eric Haase, Dustin Garneau and Grayson Greiner are the other options available on the 40-man roster. Haase has hit reasonably well but comes with some defensive question marks, while Garneau and Greiner traditionally haven’t offered much at the plate.
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