Miami Marlins Receive a Haul from Baltimore for Trevor Rogers
The Miami Marlins were able to get a ton of value for starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, landing Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers from the Orioles.
The Marlins and Orioles got Deadline Day rolling with the biggest move so far today.
The Marlins sent LHP Trevor Rogers to Baltimore in exchange for two MLB-ready players, OF Kyle Stowers and INF Connor Norby in the early afternoon of July 30th.
The Orioles starting pitching staff wasn’t a weak point, per se. However, a slew of injuries to arms like Kyle Bradish, John Means, and Tyler Wells left them with some holes in the rotation.
Earlier this week, the Orioles sent a trio of prospects to Tampa Bay in exchange for Zach Eflin. Today, they proved they have no intention of slowing down when it comes to making improvements ahead of a potential World Series push.
They add Rogers, a lefty with multiple years of control following this season, but at a heavy asking price of two of their better youngsters in the organization. Luckily for Baltimore, there’s plenty of young talent to go around in their farm system so this move hardly slows down their plans to make more moves.
Orioles Get: LHP Trevor Rogers
2024 Stats: 105. IP / 4.53 ERA / 4.57 XFIP / 8.3% K-BB% / 0.8 fWAR
Contract: $1.53M (ARB) / FA: 2027
Rogers joins the Orioles rotation as a lefty who has shown the ability and talent to be one of the best starters in the league. The 26-year-old had a breakout year in 2021, pitching to the tune of a 2.64 ERA through 133 IP. He was lights out that season, striking out 28.5% of hitters he faced, good enough to give him an elite K-BB% of 20%.
Unfortunately, he’s yet to replicate that 2021 season. Since 2022, Rogers has pitched to a 4.92 ERA through 230.1 IP, good got just a 1.8 fWAR, less than half of his fWAR from 2021, alone.
Baltimore will try to revert Rogers back to his 2021 ways. His fastball velocity has ticked town every season since 2022, leading Rogers to implement a sinker into his arsenal.
Baltimore has called up young arms like Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott as of late to see if those prospects could find a spot in the rotation.
Based on the results from Povich’s eight MLB starts and McDermott’s debut, as well as the recent move for Eflin and now Rogers, it appears the Orioles will give them more time to develop. These two arms could also be on the move at some point before the 6 p.m. deadline.
Rogers is under club control for the next two seasons following the conclusion of 2024. The asking price was high but GM, Mike Elias, sees this year as a chance to bring a championship to Baltimore. He’s pushing his chips forward.
Marlins Get: OF Kyle Stowers and INF Connor Norby
Fans of The Fish should be over the moon about this return. Rogers hasn’t been the same guy that he was back in 2021 and GM, Peter Bendix, saw the chance to get a hefty return for the controllable lefty. The package Miami received is a premium one.
Kyle Stowers
2024 Stats (MLB): 37 PA / 119 wRC+ / 1 HR / 4 2B / 0.2 fWAR
2024 Stats (AAA): 264 PA / 115 wRC+ / 18 HR / 16 2B
Stowers made his debut in 2022 but has been back and forth between Triple-A and the big league squad over the past three seasons.
Through 67 MLB games, Stowers has posted an 83 wRC+ and a K-rate north of 30%. The 6-3 200 lbs lefty is known for his above-average power but has struggled to make consistent contact at both the MLB and in the minors.
Here’s a look at his Triple-A Statcast metrics:
He is an incredibly aggressive hitter, swinging in the zone over 80% of the time. It’s paying off for him in Triple-A as he has posted a .555 SLG in 2024 so far.
Stowers will need to cut back on the chase in order to make him more of a threat to get on base. As of now, his Triple-A Statcast data draws comparisons closest to MJ Melendez, DJ Stewart, and Chris Taylor.
Connor Norby
2024 Stats (MLB): 32 PA / 61 wRC+ / 2 HR / 1 2B / -0.1 fWAR
2024 Stats (AAA): 375 PA / 134 wRC+ / 16 HR / 21 2B / 13 SB
Norby has been rumored in trade talks for some time now. The 24-year-old infielder has been blocked by a slew of other young infielders in the Baltimore farm system.
Norby has yet to struggle in the minor leagues. In Triple-A this season, he’s slashing .297/.389/.519. The Orioles called him up and he’s played in nine big league games already. At the time of this transaction, Norby was on the 26-man roster.
In Miami, he’ll get the first opportunity of his career to start every day in the major leagues. Norby has proven to be a solid all-around bat, doing a little bit of everything offensively. Norby has that same utility in his defensive game. Primarily a 2B, Norby has also played his fair share in the corner outfield spots in Triple-A.
Norby doesn’t have the flashiest number on the exit velocity chart but his ability to pull the ball at a high right has led to a solid amount of power output. Like Stowers, Norby is a hitter who isn’t afraid to swing a lot when the ball is in the strike zone.
He’s proven to be too good for the minor leagues and now will be able to improve as he competes in the big leagues day in and day out. Norby’s floor is also fairly high due to the positional utility that allows him to play at multiple spots on the infield dirt as well as the outfield grass.
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