Tigers' Jake Rogers struck in face by own bat, suffers mild concussion
· Yahoo Sports
BRADENTON, FL – Jake Rogers is injured.
The 30-year-old catcher was struck in the face by his own bat during a drill in the batting cage Tuesday, March 17, at the Detroit Tigers' spring training facility in Lakeland.
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Rogers suffered a mild concussion and received stitches, but the Tigers expect him to be active and available for Opening Day on March 26 against the San Diego Padres.
"It's mild, so we expect it to resolve itself before Opening Day," manager A.J. Hinch said before Wednesday's game in spring training. "But it was a scary incident and a very unintended mishap in the cage that brought a lot of concern."
There wasn't any joking around in the batting cage.
It was just a freak accident.
"I know he's doing well today, which is a good sign," Hinch said. "He's going to have to be in the hands of the doctors in the next few days to figure out exactly where we're at."
Before the injury, Rogers was on the Tigers' travel roster for Wednesday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park in Bradenton, but the incident in the batting cage forced him to be scratched.
The initial plan for the three catchers on the trip: Rogers catching right-hander Casey Mize in the first six innings, Dillon Dingler serving as the designated hitter and Eduardo Valencia catching for the final three innings.
After the injury, the Tigers shifted Dingler to catcher and Matt Vierling to designated hitter, then entered Trei Cruz into the starting lineup as the center fielder.
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In 2026, Rogers will work as the backup catcher.
If Rogers isn't ready for Opening Day, the Tigers could turn to Valencia or Tomás Nido to replace him on the 26-man roster.
Of those two options, the 26-year-old Valencia is already on the 40-man roster – making him the easiest choice from a roster management standpoint if Rogers ends up on the 7-day injured list for concussion symptoms. Replacing Rogers with Nido – a 31-year-old who spent most of last season with Triple-A Toledo and appeared in 10 games with Detroit –would require the Tigers to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
In 2025, Rogers – a team leader in the clubhouse – hit .187 with three home runs, 15 walks and 39 strikeouts across 46 games. He posted zero defensive runs saved over 339 innings behind the plate.
Rogers is set to become a free agent this November.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Jake Rogers suffers concussion as Opening Day nears