CHICAGO — On Friday, after dealing away nine major league players for a haul of prospects before Thursday’s MLB trade deadline, the Orioles turned the page on 2025 and looked ahead to 2026.

The task for the rest of the season will be seeing who fits into the future. And, if there’s one thing that’s become clear in recent weeks, it’s that Trevor Rogers should be a big part of it.

“I think the sky’s the limit for the guy.” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “He has to continue to work and do the things that he’s done to get himself to this point, but we love right where he’s at right now. But, if he gets better, that’s OK too.”

Rogers again proved why as he pitched eight innings, tying the career high he set in June. But the offense couldn’t get anything going and the Orioles lost to the Cubs, 1-0.

Although the outcome of this year’s trades is unknown, the deal from last year that brought Rogers to Baltimore is proving its value.

Acquired at the 2024 deadline for Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby, Rogers didn’t get off to a strong start with the Orioles, pitching to a 7.11 ERA in four starts before being optioned. But this year he has showed why the Orioles gave up two major league-ready contributors.

In nine starts, Rogers has a 1.44 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP in 56 1/3 innings. His performance Friday came on the one-year anniversary of his first appearance with the Orioles.

“Wow, I didn’t know that,” Rogers said. “Complete 360. Went from trying to do too much and trying to produce results for this team and coming all the way around to just focusing on execution and doing my job, and we’re getting good results. So complete 360. Very thankful for the Orioles and I’ve had a blast here, but still got a job to do for the next two months and I’ll continue to do that.”

The Orioles are past the point of being surprised — this is who Rogers is now. And, at a time when the Orioles need hope that there are better days to come, he provided that.

He pitched into the seventh inning for the fifth time in nine starts, allowing four hits and walking none. Rogers allowed his one run in the second. Carson Kelly hit a single, advanced to third on a Pete Crow-Armstrong double and came home on a sacrifice fly from Ian Happ.

“Really just keep my fastballs where they’re really effective, up at the top,” Rogers said. “I knew my curveball or my sweeper was going to be really effective today, as far as just the difference in velocity. Just trying to keep them off balance and I didn’t really use a whole lot of sinkers today, but I think my spin was really effective today. Landing it for strikes and for weak contact.”

Rogers finished at 88 pitches and recorded a complete game.

The Orioles did not get Rogers to the bottom of the ninth — but he did have the thought of a complete game in the back of his mind, he said — because the offense failed to produce.

The Orioles had only three hits. The first was a single from Jackson Holliday in the third. Jeremiah Jackson added a single in the fifth, his first career major league hit in his big league debut Friday — one of the replacements for the four position players traded away. Jackson tried to steal second but was thrown out to end the inning.

“It was awesome,” Jackson said of his debut. “A dream come true. Something that everybody here has worked really hard to get here, and to be up here with these guys, it’s awesome. Truly a blessing.”

Adley Rutschman hit a two-out double in the ninth, but Tyler O’Neill flied out to the warning track in left field to end it.

This article has been updated.