The Orioles are sending prospects Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers to the Miami Marlins for former All-Star starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, multiple sources confirmed to The Baltimore Banner.
Rogers, 26, has a 4.53 ERA this season and is under team control through the 2026 season. He is the second starting pitcher the Orioles have acquired ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline. Baltimore picked up Zach Eflin from the Rays last Friday. Rogers will likely slot in at the back end of Baltimore’s rotation, behind Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez and Eflin, with Dean Kremer serving as the No. 4 or No. 5 starter.
“It’s a good addition to the team, and I’m definitely going to miss the guys we got rid of, but we’re super excited to have him,” first baseman Ryan Mountcastle said.
“Always looking for starting pitching, and hopefully he can help us down the stretch,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Definitely left-handed starting pitching is really important here. We haven’t had a lot of it.”
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This move allows the Orioles to keep Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott, who both debuted this season, in Triple-A to continue to developing, while also giving them the option to move Albert Suárez into a relief role, where he has excelled. Suárez has a 3.62 ERA overall and a 0.90 ERA as a reliever in 10 innings with a .189 on-base percentage against.
In return, the Marlins are getting two players who can immediately contribute to their major league roster. Norby, Baltimore’s No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, debuted last month and has played in nine major league games, hitting .188 with two home runs. He hit .297 with 16 home runs and a .908 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 320 at-bats with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides.
By parting with Norby and Stowers, the Orioles dealt two players who could have bright futures. But to receive a controllable arm, those are the sort of sacrifices that are often made. Outfielder Heston Kjerstad likened it to going out to dinner and spending $100 on a nice cut of meat.
“You feel like you are getting a good value, steakhouse says they are getting a good value,” he said.
Hyde hasn’t talked with Stowers yet but told Norby how excited he was for the opportunity ahead of the infielder.
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“Hopefully a great opportunity there to play and showcase himself as a major league player, and Kyle’s in the same boat,” Hyde said. “Guys that have put really good numbers up in Triple-A and looking for an opportunity, and hopefully they get one in Miami.”
The Orioles have used Jorge Mateo as their short-term solution at second base and see top prospect Jackson Holliday as their long-term option there. But with Mateo on the injured list due to an elbow dislocation, Norby was called upon to fill in.
In a corresponding move, the Orioles are recalling utilityman Terrin Vavra from Norfolk, a source confirmed to The Banner. Vavra, 27, missed most of the 2023 season through injury, as well as the start of 2024. In 67 major league games, Vavra has a .254 batting average.
Craig Mish was the first to report the Rogers trade. MASN first reported Vavra’s expected promotion.
Stowers, an outfielder, has spent parts of three seasons in the majors. In 19 games with the Orioles this season, he hit .306 with one home run. He’s hit .240 in 229 Norfolk at-bats with 18 home runs and an .877 OPS.
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It’s been tough for Stowers to get regular playing time, as Kjerstad and Colton Cowser are also left-handed hitting outfielders. Cowser has taken over an everyday outfield role and Kjerstad is a platoon hitter currently.
“I was pretty close with both of them [Norby and Stowers],” Mountcastle said. “Super great teammates, great people, so for them to leave is not always fun, but I’m happy for them and they’ll get a good chance over there, I believe.”
“Stowers is an awesome dude,” outfielder Cedric Mullins said. “He’s always been awesome in the clubhouse. ... He’s had some success with us. Some big moments with us.”
Rogers has a four-pitch mix with a four-seam fastball, sinker, changeup and slider. In 2021, his first full season with the Marlins, he started 25 games and pitched to a 2.64 ERA over 133 innings, with 157 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.15. The 23-year-old made the National League All-Star team and finished second behind Cincinnati’s Jonathan India for NL Rookie of the Year.
But the former first-round pick hasn’t found that level of success in the three seasons since. He held a 5.47 ERA over 22 starts for the Marlins in 2022, and a left biceps strain limited him to four starts in 2023.
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This season, Rogers’ WHIP has ballooned to 1.53 and his strikeouts-per-nine rate has dropped to a career-low 7.3. However, over his last eight games, Rogers has a 3.23 ERA. Plus, with another two seasons of team control, there’s time for the Orioles to work on getting Rogers back to his best.
“I would say a lot of the moves aren’t even just based on this year. I would say a lot of moves you could say are projectable going forward,” said Kjerstad, citing Eflin being under contract for 2025 as well. “It’s also setting the team up for not only this postseason run, but hopefully successful years to follow.”
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