How Jake Rogers became the heartbeat of the surging Tigers

CLEVELAND — Nearly four years ago, A.J. Hinch sat Jake Rogers down and laid out a long list of all he needed to improve.

The blocking, the framing, the setup, the target, the small nuances of the catcher position. It was Hinch’s first year as manager of the Detroit Tigers . He and Rogers had a prior relationship from their times in the Houston Astros organization.

Now with the Tigers, Rogers’ career was at an early crossroads . Advertisement He made his MLB debut in 2019 and struggled. He spent all of 2020 at the alternate site.

Just when the possibility of the organization moving on seemed possible, a new manager was telling Rogers about the ways his biggest perceived strength — defense — wasn’t actually all that great. “I pretty much agreed and was like, ‘All right, I get it,’” Rogers said. Skip ahead to Monday.

Rogers hit a line drive into shallow center field. Cleveland Guardians outfielder Angel Martinez dived for the ball and missed. Rogers whirled around the bases, picking up steam as he careened around third and chug-a-lugged toward home with his goofy catcher’s gait.

Rogers slid headfirst and narrowly avoided a tag. Safe by a millisecond. “I told the trainers, ‘We need an oxygen mask,’” starting pitcher Tarik Skubal said.

“He went down in the tunnel, had the fan on him. I was like, ‘Brother, you got to breathe.’” The play was scored a triple, with an error on Martinez, who fell and struggled picking up the ball as it rolled into .