Miami Marlins
Trevor Rogers explains emotional last few weeks and the plan for his Marlins return
It’s quite understandable that baseball hasn’t necessarily at the forefront for Trevor Rogers this month.
The Miami Marlins’ star left-handed pitcher, their lone All-Star representative this season and a contender for National League Rookie of the Year, has not pitched in a game since July 31 and was placed on the family medical emergency list on Aug. 3, moved to the bereavement list on Aug. 10 and then was placed on the restricted list on Aug. 17 when his bereavement list eligibility expired.
Here’s what has been going on, as relayed by Rogers to the Miami Herald while in Cincinnati last weekend:
“It’s been a really tough two weeks. Both my parents got COVID. My dad made it out all right. My mom was doing well, but then she got pneumonia from it and it kind of slowly went downhill. While I was here, I was just contacting my dad just ‘all right, what’s going on?’ I forget who were playing, somebody at home, and he said my mom got airlifted to another hospital and put on a ventilator. I mean, when you hear that, that your mom stopped breathing on her own, and she’s sedated, the last thing I wanted to think about was baseball.
“So I went back home and I just spent time with my dad because it really hit him hard. There were a few moments where it got really scary, thinking the worst of the worst might happen. But my mom, she’s a freaking tough woman. She battled. A lot of prayer, a lot of answered prayer. She got through it, thank God. She made it home [Thursday]. On top of that, I lost both my grandfathers within a week of each other, so it was just like one thing on top of another. It was tough. It sucked. I know that both my grandfathers are in a better place and they’re not suffering anymore. My mom’s back home. It was it was tough two weeks and I was just happy to talk to my mom again and see that she’s doing better. It could have been a lot worse, but she made it through.”
Rogers said he was extremely thankful for the support from the Marlins organization during the past month.
“This organization has been unbelievable,” Rogers said. “From [CEO Derek] Jeter to [general manager] Kim [Ng] to Donnie [manager Don Mattingly], all my teammates. Everyone reached out. ‘Take your time. We’re thinking about you. We’re praying for you’. It’s been a lot of pain. This organization, it’s my extended family. I truly believe that.”
Trevor Rogers’ plan to return
Rogers is working out again. He’s been back with the team for about a week now and has every intention of rejoining the rotation before the season ends.
Rogers said he will likely need a couple bullpen sessions and maybe a rehab start or two before returning.
When he does return, the Marlins don’t plan to hold him back. The goal for the season was for Rogers to pitch a maximum of about 175 innings. He’s only at 110 now.
“When he comes back, we’ll get him in safely but there’s not going to be any reins,” pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said. “He’s set for when he does come back to where there’s no limitations other than bringing him back safely.”
Winning Rookie of the Year is still on Rogers’ mind, too.
Rogers leads all qualified rookie pitchers in ERA (2.45) and is among the top five in batting average against (.212, third), walks and hits per inning pitched (1.13, third), strikeouts per nine innings (10.55, fourth) and innings pitched (110, fourth). His 3.1 wins above replacement still pace all National League rookies, with Cincinnati Reds pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez (2.8), Reds second baseman Jonathan India (2.6), Atlanta Braves pitcher Ian Anderson (2.2) and Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson (1.9) rounding out the top five.
“I know I had a great year,” Rogers said. “I sat out a month, though, so if I can continue to put the work in and have a good final month, hopefully my name is still in that category. If it’s not, I had a good run at it, had a great year for my first full season in the big leagues.”
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