How matching watches symbolize Skubal-Rogers partnership

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Tigers hadn’t yet officially started Spring Training earlier this month when Tarik Skubal, one of many early arrivals to camp, walked over to Jake Rogers’ locker at Joker Marchant Stadium bearing gifts.

Skubal had talked about getting Rogers a gift at the end of last season for catching every pitch of his incredible campaign, much like Justin Verlander would buy a watch for his catcher after throwing a no-hitter. Before the follow-up season begins, Skubal delivered in his usual low-key fashion.

“He got a nice little gift on his wrist, a nice Rolex,” Skubal said Friday. “I just gave it to him the first day I saw him here.”

Actually, two watches.

As a left-handed pitcher with a 100+ mph fastball and a nasty changeup and slider, Skubal is arguably one of one. The watch he gave Rogers is one of two, with Skubal buying the other for himself.

“It means a lot, what he did,” Rogers said. “I don’t know if I would have ever bought myself one. He was kind enough to do that, and then him and [his wife Jessica] engraved it. It’s an incredible piece.”

It was a touching gesture, and one that makes scenes like Friday all the more fun.

Rogers’ gift was a reward for catching all of Skubal’s starts during his Cy Young season. On Friday, with Skubal slated for a two-inning session of live batting practice, Rogers got out from behind the plate for the second inning and stepped into the box to face Skubal as a hitter for the first time in his career.

Rogers and Skubal both had to smile as one of Skubal’s warmup tosses bounced in the dirt and hit Dillon Dingler in the forearm.

“If you hit me, I’ll kill you,” Rogers told Skubal as he stepped into the box.

Rogers faced Skubal for five pitches. When he chased Skubal’s slider and made contact on the first pitch, it was just a bouncer in the dirt, but for him it was a victory.

“Thank God,” Rogers said.

“I prefer him behind the plate,” Skubal said afterwards. “But I get it. That was fun.”

Though Tigers manager and former catcher A.J. Hinch isn’t a fan of personal catchers, he recognizes the special relationship Skubal and Rogers have formed ever since they were teammates at the alternate training site in Toledo in 2020. While Skubal screams with intensity, Rogers is loose enough to keep him grounded, which makes for memorable scenes in mound meetings.

Beyond the personalities, Rogers’ pitch-calling has Skubal’s trust to the point that the left-hander rarely shakes signals. Whenever Skubal was asked about a pitch selection last season, he deferred to Rogers. While Skubal has honed a lot of elite weapons for his arsenal, Rogers has the knowledge and experience on how best to use them.

“What I see behind the plate is a great understanding of the responsibilities back there,” Hinch said. “I see the feedback going back and forth, great banter. And I think [Rogers] sees how he can impact the game every day with game-calling and his prep. That position, not because I’m biased, is an integral part of developing a winning team, and he’s been a big part of that because of the trust that he can develop with pitchers.”

Dingler will catch one of Skubal’s starts this Spring Training just to be ready in case of injury, but Hinch plans on Rogers catching most or all of Skubal’s starts again.

“I’m well aware that those two work well together,” Hinch said. “I like that combo.”

The gift is a reflection of that trust. Since then, Rogers has been trying to find occasions to wear the watch, which he joked might be the most expensive thing he owns.

“I’ve been [in] ragged shorts and a t-shirt wearing it,” he said. “I’m wearing it every day. I just got engaged and we got engagement pictures, so I got to wear it last night and show it off a little bit -- hopefully not taking away from her ring. …

“But again, it means a lot to me, so I’m going to try to wear it as much as I can.”