Taylor Rogers

Taylor Allen Rogers

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 175 lb.
• School University of Kentucky
• High School Chatfield Senior High School
• Debut April 14, 2016

• Born December 17, 1990 in Littleton, CO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Starting pitcher Taylor Rogers began playing in the Minnesota Twins minor league system in 2012. he is the twin brother of Tyler Rogers.

He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 37th round of the 2009 amateur draft, but opted not to sign. He was then taken by the Twins in the 11th round of the 2012 amateur draft, out of the University of Kentucky and inked a contract.

With the Elizabethton Twins and Beloit Snappers in 2012, he went 4-3 with a 2.27 ERA in 15 games (10 starts), striking out 74 batters in 63 1/3 innings. In 2013, he was 11-7 with a 2.88 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Fort Myers Miracle, earning a spot on the Florida State League Post-Season All-Star team. He began 2014 with the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats and earned a spot on the Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star squad.

He reached the majors with the Twins in 2016 and quickly established himself as one of their most effective relievers. He played six seasons in Minnesota, recording a career-high of 30 saves in 2019, although he was mostly used un a role other than closer. He went 7-3 in 2017, made a career-high 72 appearances in 2018 and in 2021 was named to the All-Star team in spite of not being a closer; he was however the most reliable reliever on a Twins teams that badly underperformed expectations. He went 2-4, 3.35 with 9 saves in 40 outings that season, but made his last appearance on July 26th, after which he was placed on the injured list with a middle finger sprain. During his time in Minnesota, he appeared in the postseason three different times, pitching 3 1/3 innings in 4 games with a 5.40 ERA. The Twins lost the 2017 Wild Card Game, were swept in the Division Series in 2019, and again in the Wild Card Series the following year.

Just before the start of the 2022 season, on April 7th, he was traded to the San Diego Padres along with OF Brent Rooker in return for Ps Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan. On April 11th, he got to face his twin brother, Tyler, of the San Francisco Giants for the first time of his career. It turned out to be a historic occasion as in the first game of the series on April 11th, the two brothers appeared in the game, making them just the 6th pair of twin brothers to play in the same game, and the first time twins had pitched for opposite teams. Both brothers figured in the decision: Taylor was credited with the save in the Padres' 4-2 win, while Tyler was charged with the loss for the Giants. The last pair of twins to have appeared in the same major league game had been Jose Canseco and Ozzie Canseco, with the 1990 Oakland Athletics. He went 1-5, 4.35 in 42 games for San Diego, with 28 saves, although he struggled in July, with an ERA of 9.31 in 10 games (in fact, his ERA went up every month after a virgin April). On August 1st, in an unexpected move, the Padres decided to trade for Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader, who had incidentally also struggled in July, and Taylor was one of the four players they gave up in return, along with Ps Robert Gasser and Dinelson Lamet and OF Esteury Ruiz. He did not do well with his new team, going 3-3, 5.48 in 24 games, with 3 saves, as the Brewers missed the postseason.

He became a free agent following the 2022 season and on December 23rd joined up with his brother by signing a three-year deal with the San Francisco Giants. The Giants suddenly had some money available to sign some players, as their huge deal to land SS Carlos Correa had just fallen through. He thus joined his brother Tyler as the two became the first brothers to be members of the same pitching staff since Mickey Mahler and Rick Mahler with the 1979 Atlanta Braves.

While he and Tyler are identical twins, their pitching style is completely different: Taylor is a conventional lefthander, whereas Tyler is a righthander who uses an extreme submarine motion. Both are very effective relievers who rely on excellent control and an above-average slider, however.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (2021)
• 30 Saves Seasons: 2 (2019 & 2022)

Further Reading

• AJ Cassavell and Maria Guardado: "Taylor Rogers 'in a weird spot' after earning save as twin Tyler takes loss", mlb.com, April 12, 2022. [1]
• Scott Chiusano: "They are identical twins. They have identical stats, too?", mlb.com, August 10, 2023. [2]
• Maria Guardado: "Giants agree to 3-year deal with lefty reliever Rogers", mlb.com, December 23, 2022. [3]
• Mike Petriello: "This is the best pitcher you don't know about: Twins reliever Rogers ended 2018 with 28 straight scoreless outings", January 3, 2019. [4]

Related Sites

• Taylor Rogers on mlb.com
• BR Minors page