ROGERS LOSES JOB, CAN EARN IT BACK
The Padres will go with a closer other than Taylor Rogers for a while, as was expected after a tough couple days capped a tough couple months for the left-hander.
Rather, they will likely go with closers.
“We’ll just try to match up the best we can,” manager Bob Melvin said Friday afternoon. “We have some really good arms down there. I couldn’t tell you today what the ninth inning is gonna look like. We’ll see how we get there.”
If the Padres have a lead in the final inning for the time being, they could go with left-hander Adrian Morejon one night and Luis Garcia the next. Nick Martinez could close when he comes back.
Eventually, the new closer could be same as the old closer.
“If someone is there a couple times and they seize it for a little while, then good,” Melvin said. “But hopefully this is just a brief period where we give (Rogers) a couple of different looks and get him back in it.”
Rogers is expected to pitch in the sixth, seventh or eighth inning in the meantime.
Rogers entered Friday tied for the major league lead with 28 saves but was demoted after blowing a save opportunity in consecutive games in Detroit this week. He has an 8.14 ERA over his past 22 games (21 innings) after allowing one run in his first 20 appearances (201 ⁄3 innings) following his acquisition from the Twins in an opening-day trade.
“Our best team is with him closing,” Melvin said. “What is he, first or second in the league in saves? He’s done a lot of good work there. This is not uncommon. … What he’s accomplished this year for us, we wouldn’t be where we are without him.”
The Padres opened a three-game series against
the Twins on Friday.
“I have a lot going on,” Rogers said before Friday’s game. “Yesterday, I was sitting (thinking about how) I got the old team coming in, had the last couple days. So, a lot going on. But it was good to sit back and try to do the whole look-in-the-mirror speech, to get down to the base layer here.”
He met with Melvin and pitching coach Ruben Niebla on Friday morning.
“I think we’ve got a good plan going forward,” Rogers said. “They’re great at what they do, and I trust them. So I’m gonna follow their lead.”
Melvin pointed out that he has switched up roles in the bullpen multiple times as a manager. He believes it can be beneficial for a closer to get a few soft landing spots before returning to the pressure-filled task of getting the final outs in a game.
“That’s probably the toughest role there is in baseball, because when you have a bad day, you lose,” Melvin said. “Sometimes you just need a little bit of a break.”
The movement on Rogers’ sinker has diminished slightly in recent weeks. His slider has gotten away from him at times. He has had trouble closing out two-strike counts. A good bit of bad luck has also plagued him, as opponents have a .429 batting average on balls in play over his past 22 games. (That is 139 points higher than the major league average.)
“We’re going to work on a couple of things,” Rogers said. “But nothing major. Nothing major. Because when you look deep down … when you dig into those stats, it’s really not as bad as it looks on the surface. So then you have to have the conversation with yourself. ‘OK, what do I change? Should I change? Because, you know, do you necessarily need to?’ So we’re going to tinker a little bit, but we’re really not doing a lot.”
Melvin added another potential factor:
“Maybe a little bit (of) anxiety,” the manager said. “There’s a lot that plays into that. That is a really hard role to struggle. But until this period here recently, he’s been so good for us. … It’s just, it’s a hard road to deal with when you’re struggling.”