In the moments following the Orioles’ decision to send Trevor Rogers to the minor leagues — swiftly giving up the left-handed starter’s place in the rotation soon after they traded for him at the deadline — Rogers’ thoughts began to spiral.

He had put tremendous pressure on himself after the trade. He realized, of course, how much Baltimore gave up for his services, sending outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby to the Miami Marlins. Rogers went from a bottom-dweller to a club fighting for first place in the American League East, and he was expected to perform.

Only, Rogers didn’t perform. At least not consistently enough to warrant a start every fifth day. So after four ineffective outings, he was leaving Baltimore for Triple-A Norfolk, a gut punch for a pitcher who has been seeking a return to his best since 2022.

“It’s a hard game, and I need to take some accountability that I wasn’t doing my job well enough to help the team win, and they had to find someone else to help the guys win, and I take accountability for that,” Rogers said this week. “I’m never going to sit here and make excuses.”

There are reasonable excuses to make, however, even if Rogers chooses against it.

In 2021, Rogers broke out for the Marlins. He started 25 games, earned a place on the All-Star roster and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting for his 2.64 ERA. But at the end of that season, a nagging lower back pain that can flair into spasms began, and it has followed him throughout the last several seasons.

With it, Rogers unwittingly altered his delivery to avoid pain. He cut down on weightlifting that might trigger spasms. And his results wavered, falling off from the heights of his rookie season.

When the Orioles optioned Rogers to Triple-A this summer, the success of 2021 seemed to grow even further away, and the chase to return to that level seemed more arduous than ever.

But when pitching coach Drew French pulled Rogers aside, the spiraling slowed. Rogers is an Oriole for a reason — and while his first four starts in Baltimore left something to be desired, the Orioles believe in Rogers. And that helps Rogers believe in himself.

“Hey, we have a plan here,” Rogers remembers French telling him. “We think we can help you with the people that we have. That’s why we traded for you. We didn’t send you down and just forgot about you.”

“When he said that, I kind of turned my thought process around,” Rogers said. “I was like, ‘OK, they traded for me for a reason. They have a plan going into this. They know how good I can be. I know how good I can be.’ Unfortunately, sometimes it’s not going to take a couple weeks, it’s going to take a long time to get back to where I know I can be. So, there was a time there for a while where it was pretty tough. But I’m on the backside of that now and I’m eager to see what the future has in store.”

Almost immediately upon watching Rogers pitch in an Orioles uniform for the first time — a start against the Cleveland Guardians that lasted 4 1/3 innings with five runs against him — French and assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer had an idea of where Rogers was deficient.

They put on the tape from that outing and focused on Rogers’ delivery.

The pitching coaches pointed out how Rogers’ right leg, his plant leg, bent and was “collapsing” rather than straightening through his delivery. His back hip lost its rotating momentum too early. And in Norfolk, pitching coaches Justin Ramsey and Forrest Herrmann noted that Rogers was too hunched over, not taking advantage of his 6-foot-5 frame.

All three inefficiencies played a role in why Rogers’ average fastball velocity dropped from 94.6 mph in 2022 to 91.9 mph in 2024. And much of that had to do with his lower back.

“The low-back issues, you try to move in ways that aren’t painful,” Rogers said. “I think it was kind of a double-edged sword, that, oh, my back hurt. So, I didn’t want to do anything back-related, which in turn hurt me in terms of strengthening my low back, so my low back got weaker. And then, in terms of delivery, that just hurt me as far as building bad habits without even knowing it, just to try to avoid pain.”

Across the last three winters, Rogers largely avoided rigorous workouts that might trigger his back issues. But this is the first year he’s ramping up again, in large part thanks to a book he read.

Rogers dug into “Back Mechanic” by Dr. Stuart McGill, and in doing so, he learned how to improve his spine through posture when standing or sitting, and improved his technique while lifting. Rogers also credits Trey Wiedman, the Orioles’ head strength coach, with overhauling his weightlifting routine.

At this point in the offseason, Rogers hasn’t begun throwing off a mound. But he hopes that when he steps foot there again, his refined delivery and improved strength will be evident through increased velocity.

Rogers is under no illusion that a return to his best will be easy. He has been attempting it since his rookie year. But now, with a clear set of targets in front of him, he thinks it’s really attainable.

“I know where I was deficient at. I know where I’m weak at, as far as my body goes,” Rogers said. “Hopefully with the stuff that I’m doing, get the fastball up to where it needs to be and really just go from there. I’m really excited there’s a clear-cut goal, and they’re all in my corner and really will use anything they have for me to get back to where I need to be.”