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Just as Trevor Rogers was finally starting to show glimpses of his All-Star form from 2021, the lefty may be headed to the injured list. Rogers was forced to leave his start on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants in the fourth inning, after giving up a double to Darin Ruf and immediately drawing the concern of Miami Marlins trainers.
.@Marlins lefty Trevor Rogers leaves the game in the fourth inning. pic.twitter.com/IV8SGndign
— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) April 19, 2023
Even more concerning, Rogers’ fastball velocity was significantly down throughout the start:
Today, Trevor Rogers is throwing with the lowest fastball velocity of any game in his MLB career
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) April 19, 2023
Averaging 91.9 mph on four-seamers/sinkers https://t.co/itdu5n014o
The team has yet to make an announcement about a diagnosis or potential timetable for return, but if Rogers is forced to miss time it would be a big blow to the Marlins’ rotation — especially with Max Meyer on the shelf, Johnny Cueto rehabbing his biceps injury and Sixto Sanchez just now starting to pitch to live hitters.
After struggling through his first two starts of the 2023 season, Rogers looked like his old self last week against the Arizona Diamondbacks, throwing six innings of one-run ball while striking out seven. He was rolling against the Giants, with just one run and three hits allowed through his first three-plus innings.
Once upon a time, the lefty looked like one of the brightest young arms in baseball, posting a 2.64 ERA with 157 Ks in 133 innings en route to a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting. But he scuffled through a lost 2022, with his ERA ballooning up to 5.47 and his strikeout rate dropping dramatically as hitters started adjusting to his elite changeup.