The other former Astro with a key role in Tigers' clinch

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck’s Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DETROIT -- The Tigers’ American League Wild Card Series in Houston marks the return of a former Astro who has become a valuable mentor on a young club and a critical part of Detroit’s resurgence to its first postseason berth in 10 years. In fact, one might argue that his arrival was a key step in the Tigers’ rebuild from its postseason teams of yesteryear to the up-and-coming group they bring to Minute Maid Park this week.

This is, of course, a Jake Rogers setup piece. Who did you think this was about?

“Baseball has a funny way of working itself out, especially with A.J. [Hinch] going back,” Rogers said on Sunday once the Wild Card matchup was set. “I think the small print is Rog going back.”

No, it won’t be the headline reunion. But in many ways, Rogers’ return brings the Tigers’ movement full circle more than Hinch’s matchup against his old team does. Rogers was part of the Justin Verlander trade to Houston in 2017 that signaled the full-on start of the Tigers’ rebuilding effort. He’s the only prospect from that trade to see it through to the other side, back to the postseason.

Franklin Pérez, the headline prospect in the trade, pitched in independent ball this year after battling injuries throughout his time in the Tigers' system. Daz Cameron, the top hitting prospect of the deal, spent this season with the A’s after playing in 73 games with Detroit from 2020-22. The general manager who made the deal, Al Avila, is also elsewhere, replaced by president of baseball operations Scott Harris two years ago.

Rogers is the last man standing from the deal on the Tigers' side. From a talent standpoint, he has become the most valuable one.

Given the importance of pitching in the Tigers’ success this year and his role as Tarik Skubal’s catcher, there’s a case to be made that Detroit wouldn’t be here without Rogers calling pitches. When Skubal takes the mound on Tuesday afternoon for Game 1, he’ll have Rogers behind the plate.

“I think he brings the best out of me, personally,” Skubal said. “I think he gets the best out of all our guys. I think that’s the biggest complement you can give him. I trust fully in whatever he’s doing. Guys don’t run on me because he’s behind the plate, so I don’t have to worry about the running game. Yeah, he’s great back there.”

Metrics back that up. Rogers has compiled 4.8 fWAR over the last two seasons, second only to Riley Greene among Tigers position players and 11th among MLB catchers. He ranked fifth among MLB catchers this regular season with 13 Defensive Runs Saved and 12 Fielding Runs. His pitch framing, once viewed as a liability in his game, has become a strength through hard work with catching coach Ryan Sienko.

In the process, Rogers has won over the former catcher in Hinch, who was managing the Astros when Rogers was in the organization.

? Tigers-Astros position-by-position breakdown

“When you put together successful baseball, it’s not just the pitchers throwing the right pitches. It’s the pitch calling, it’s the pitch framing, it’s the execution,” Hinch said.

“The catcher, not just because I have history there, is an integral part of the success of a team. You need stability. You need consistency. It is the most important position to reset from offense to defense. It’s a huge influence on the outcome of a game, because you’re going to make a couple hundred decisions a night on what pitch to call as opposed to four at-bats or three swings or one ball in the dirt. It’s a complicated position that warrants respect, especially when you play it as well as Jake does.”

With a strong defensive presence and a power bat that requires respect when he steps into the batter's box, Rogers has become exactly the type of catcher that the Astros forecast when they traded him.

“He has the ability, in my opinion, to be a front-line, everyday catcher in the big leagues,” former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said in 2018. “We did not take it lightly, trading our catcher of the future. But to get Justin Verlander, we had to do it.”

Like the Tigers’ road back to contention, Rogers has endured a longer path to get there. If Kenta Maeda is left off the roster for the Wild Card Series, Rogers will be Detroit’s second-oldest player in the series, 11 days older than Zach McKinstry, and younger only than Andy Ibá?ez.

Rogers’ last stop in the Astros system was at High-A Buies Creek, where his teammates included 20-year-olds Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker and a 22-year-old Chas McCormick. He caught a promising relief prospect named Ronel Blanco early that season at Single-A Quad Cities.

“That was a long time ago,” Rogers said. “I was a young kid, still in High-A, not really knowing what was going to happen after that. But it’s going to be fun. A lot of those guys, I played with. I have a lot of teammates still on that team who were in the organization when I was. They’re great guys and great players, so it’s going to be fun.”