Why Tyler Rogers couldn't say no when the AL Champs called

Winning the AL pennant continues to pay off for the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason. First, it was one of the reasons why one of the top starting pitchers on the market, Dylan Cease, signed with the Blue Jays. Now, we're learning that it was also something that made reliever Tyler Rogers pick up the phone and hear what the front office had to say.

Winning the AL pennant continues to pay off for the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason. First, it was one of the reasons why one of the top starting pitchers on the market, Dylan Cease, signed with the Blue Jays. Now, we're learning that it was also something that made reliever Tyler Rogers pick up the phone and hear what the front office had to say.

“When the American League champs give you a phone call you kind of perk up and get excited about that, a team that was really close to winning the World Series. That right there is a great start,” Rogers told reporters on Friday during a zoom call. However, that's not the only reason that Rogers was inclined to contemplating a move to play for Canada's team.

He also said, "The Blue Jays have a great reputation throughout the industry. Even before they made this World Series run, they had a great reputation for how they treat their players, their facilities and even more so, how they take care of the families."

Why Taylor Rogers couldn't say no when the AL Champs called

Rogers was drafted by the San Francisco Giants, and spent almost his entire seven year career with the NL West club up until this past summer when he was moved at the trade deadline to another team who had World Series aspirations, but fell short of even reaching the playoffs, the New York Mets. Now going into his eighth big league season, the 35-year-old right-hander joins the Blue Jays who are gearing up for a repeat of last years success, and are hoping to finish the job this time.

Signing for three years and $37-million with a vesting option for 2029, Rogers is being paid like an elite relief option and based on his history there is no reason to think he can't live up to that billing. In 420 big league games, Rogers owns a 2.76 ERA with 306 strikeouts in only 77 walks in 424 innings pitched and has produced a 1.09 WHIP and a 0.6 HR/9 rate.

Those are all numbers that should project to improving the Blue Jays bullpen that struggled at times in the walks and home runs allowed department in 2025. Rogers, a submarine style pitcher, also helps give the Blue Jays the flexibility to deploy varying looks for opposing batters from the bullpen. Rogers has carved a niche for himself as the ultimate setup guy. With 241 innings under his belt in the 8th inning of a game, Rogers has held batters to a .239/.270/.331 slash line with a 6.31 SO/BB rate in that inning.

These were all clear indicators for the Blue Jays front office staff to initiate contact with Rogers. Rogers said they were the first team to reach out and after that he did his homework on what kind of situation he was getting himself into. Rogers says, "Just through word of mouth, everybody I’ve talked to who has played with the Jays don’t just say you’re going to like it there but you’re going to love playing there. Everyone says that.”

Between the World Series run and their reputation for being a family friendly destination, the Blue Jays are making in-roads this winter with the free agents they really like. But we'll see if that can carry over to the position player side as the Blue Jays have yet to make a significant add in that department.