Skip to main content

Orioles find Adley Rutschman insurance in early deadline trade with Tigers

Jul 1, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA;  Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) hits a RBI single in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
Jul 1, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) hits a RBI single in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Baltimore Orioles have found themselves in a bind ahead of the trade deadline. While hope isn't COMPLETELY dead that they could try to add help at the deadline, the odds that they push hard as buyers appears to be low and they certainly aren't going to initiate any sort of fire sale. However, the fact remains that both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo are banged up right now and SOMEONE has to play catcher for the Orioles.

Luckily, it is appears as though the Orioles' front office agrees and took advantage of a unique pre-deadline opportunity to fix it. The Tigers recently DFA'd catcher Jake Rogers and the Orioles scooped him up in a minor trade that sends Zane Barnhart to Detroit.

Orioles strike minor trade with Tigers to land catcher Jake Rogers just in case Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo's injuries don't improve

One probably shouldn't read too much into this trade in regards to Baltimore's intentions at the trade deadline or the severity of Rutschman and/or Basallo's injuries. This was a chance to pick up a veteran catcher at little cost to have a back-up plan in place just in case. It probably didn't hurt that Mike Elias is familiar with Rogers as he was in the Astros' front office that drafted him in the third round back in 2016.

In Rogers, the Orioles are getting a catcher who really knows how to manage a pitching staff, was once one of the better defensive catchers in baseball, and who cannot hit to save his life. The defensive stuff is great, but a career .649 OPS (including a paltry .567 OPS in 2026) probably means that the Orioles should hope for offense from elsewhere in the lineup when he is playing.

With Barnhart being a middling minor league reliever, the cost to the Orioles is basically nothing here. Rogers can serve as an emergency option that can be trusted to help come up with pitching game plans and manage the Orioles' staff. It isn't a perfect solution (or even one that should last beyond this season), but this was a nice opportunistic pickup for a Baltimore club that needs something to go right and soon.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations