Orioles Send Top Prospect to Miami in Trade For Trevor Rogers

The Baltimore Orioles ended Monday with a half-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East. Their starting rotation, led by right-hander Corbin Burnes, lacked depth — if not for October, then for the positional jockeying of September, when every game gained or lost in the standings tends to mean more.

Their divisional rivals aren’t standing pat. Earlier Tuesday, the Yankees acquired reliever Mark Leiter Jr. from the Chicago Cubs. The Boston Red Sox traded for Lucas Sims, a relief pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians.

More news: Yankees Make Trade, Acquire Right-Handed Reliever from Chicago Cubs

Against this backdrop, it only made sense that the Orioles would jump into the trade deadline frenzy in advance of the 6 p.m. ET deadline. According to multiple reports, Baltimore acquired right-handed starter Trevor Rogers from the Miami Marlins. The cost is high: the O’s are reportedly sending top prospect Connor Norby and left-handed hitting outfielder Kyle Stowers to Miami.

Norby, 24, made his highly anticipated debut in June and has appeared in nine major league games since. The Orioles drafted him in the second round of the 2021 draft and had patiently watched him climb the organizational ladder ever since, becoming a consensus Top-100 prospect prior to the 2023 season.

In the Orioles system, however, he was one of many highly regarded position-player prospects jockeying for playing time in a crowded infield for a nascent contender. Stowers, 26, was himself a former second-round pick (2019) who was struggling to break through in a crowded outfield. He’s a career .229 hitter across 67 major league games the last three seasons.

While he or Norby might ultimately be the best player moved in the trade, Rogers will have the most immediate impact.

A 26-year-old left-hander, Rogers was 2-9 with a 4.53 ERA for the struggling Marlins. The Orioles also just acquired right-hander Zach Eflin from the Tampa Bay Rays, joining Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer in an all-right-handed rotation.

More news: Orioles Make Second Big Trade, Acquire Starting Pitcher From AL East Rival

Rogers adds a different look from the left side, and comes with the benefit of having pitched for the Marlins in the postseason; he made one appearance during Miami’s National League Division Series that year.

In all, the trade continues to establish the high price teams are willing to pay at this deadline for depth roster pieces.

On paper, Rogers is unlikely to start for Baltimore in a best-of-five or even best-of-seven postseason series. If he can add a win or two down the stretch, it might be worth it for a team chasing its first World Series appearance since 1983, when a team led by future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray won a championship.