Is Jake Rodgers Hurt?
Yes. Jake Rodgers is injured.
Rogers has been placed on the 60-day disabled list with a right elbow injury, and his return date is unknown.
Manager AJ Hinch said that Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers underwent successful Tommy John surgery in Dallas on Wednesday morning.
The procedure to rebuild Rogers’ ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow was conducted by Dr. Keith Meister, the Texas Rangers’ head team physician.
The 26-year-old will miss the rest of the 2021 season as well as a large portion, if not all, of the 2022 season.
Following right-hander Spencer Turnbull, Rogers is the team’s second player to require Tommy John surgery this season. Turnbull had surgery on July 29 after tossing a no-hitter in May. Dr. Jeffrey Kugas of Birmingham, Alabama, conducted the procedure.
Rogers was placed on the disabled list on July 19 after experiencing right arm pain. Medical examinations found a pronator teres strain, which means he had a forearm injury near his elbow.
The Tigers were hoping for a “late-season return” for their young catcher around the end of July.
However, by late August, Hinch had become “less hopeful” about Rogers’ comeback this season. In Lakeland, Florida, he had made no improvement in his throwing routine.
Hinch’s tone shifted in early September, when he said, “I don’t feel well” about the situation.
Rogers’ 2021 season has been challenging but rewarding.
Rogers was relegated to the alternate training facility in Toledo, and subsequently to Triple-A after the minor-league season began, after trying to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training.
Rogers was called up to the major leagues by the Tigers on May 7, giving him another chance to prove himself as the future catcher.
In the 2017 Justin Verlander deal, he was acquired (along with pitcher Franklin Perez and outfielder Daz Cameron) from the Houston Astros.
It wasn’t easy the first time around.
Over 35 games, Rogers hit.125 with four home runs, eight RBIs, 13 walks, and 51 strikeouts. His defense, which he excels at, also took a hit. In 302 innings, he had nine passed balls.