Reds fans ready to say goodbye to regrettable offseason pickup at MLB trade deadline

When the Cincinnati Reds pulled off a trade with the San Francisco Giants this past offseason for Taylor Rogers, most fans were surprised, but excited. The Giants agreed to pay down half of the left-hander's salary, and Rogers' advanced metrics from 2024 suggested Cincinnati was getting a quality pitcher who could work at the backend of the Reds bullpen.

But midway through the 2025 season, nothing could be further from the truth. While Rogers' 2.56 ERA is quite good (and deceiving), the southpaw has been rather abysmal in almost every other category. Rogers' 3.98 FIP is more indicative of his performance this season, and even that might be giving him more credit than he's due.

Rogers' ground ball rate went from 46% in 2024 to 37.9% this season. His 32.9% hard-hit rate was among the 90th percentile last season, but in 2025, that number is sitting at 40.2% and right in the middle of the pack.

Reds fans ready to say goodbye to Taylor Rogers at MLB trade deadline

With two other lefties — Sam Moll and Brent Suter — already in the bullpen, the Reds should be just fine without Rogers on the roster. Left-handed relievers are highly-sought after at the MLB trade deadline, and perhaps the Reds will be fortunate enough to find a taker for Rogers before the July 31 deadline passes.

Rogers pitched well during the first month of the season, but things took a turn for the worse once the calendar flipped to May. After holding opposing batters to just a .219 average and .375 slugging percentage in his first 12 outings this season, Rogers watched the opposition begin to touch him up to the tune of .278/.325/.444 during his 11 appearances in May.

Rogers has also struggled in high-leverage situations. In the 14 instances the lefty has toed the rubber in a high-leverage spot this season, he's allowing opposing batters to absolutely crush him (.412/.458/.647). Rogers has settled in to a sixth-seventh inning role, and is oftentimes called upon when the Reds are trailing. In other words, Terry Francona doesn't trust him to help hold onto a lead late in games.

The Reds should be targeting some bullpen upgrades at the deadline, but also have some serviceable replacements in the minor leagues if Rogers is picked up by another club. While the Reds didn't give up anything other than Braxton Roxby to secure Rogers' services, he's been little more than a replacement-level player this season.

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