Rogers beginning rehab assignment, Orioles and Nationals lineups

Left-hander Trevor Rogers is ready for the next important step of his throwing progression and possible return to the majors.

Rogers is starting for the Double-A Chesapeake Baysox Wednesday morning at 11:05 a.m. at Prince George’s Stadium. He’s on the injured list after suffering a right knee subluxation during the offseason.

The Orioles acquired Rogers from the Marlins at last year’s trade deadline for outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby. He was optioned after four starts and with his ERA at 7.11 in 19 innings.

The injury occurred in January while Rogers was throwing on a turf field.

“Landed wrong and unfortunately it dislocated, but thankfully it wasn’t a complete dislocation, just dislocated for a brief second and went back into place, so it could have been a lot worse,” he said on Feb. 13.

“When I try to lock it out, that’s the only time where it bugs me, but I’m walking around normally. Probably the biggest thing is I’m playing catch every day, so whenever I get back to 100 percent I should be able to ramp up pretty quickly.”

Rogers worked hard in Triple-A and over the winter to correct the flaws that ruined his 2024 season, making it much harder to accept his exclusion from the spring training workouts and competition.

“I was really liking where my mechanics were, where my stuff was,” he said on Feb. 13. “I hit 93 (mph) in the bullpen, which was huge for me based on everything that happened last year. So I was really liking where I was going, and honestly I still like where I’m headed. Just another bump in the road. And to be honest, I’d rather it happen right now in spring training than the middle of the year.”

The rotation is battered with Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez on the injured list and Albert Suárez’s shoulder strain eliminating him from a return to it. Rogers and Chayce McDermott reported to camp with injuries. Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells won’t return until deep into the second half.

The Orioles begin a three-game series against the Nationals tonight with Heston Kjerstad in left field after being hit on the right elbow Saturday.

Jackson Holliday also is in the lineup against Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker.

Jordan Westburg is at third base, Gary Sánchez is catching and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Cedric Mullins, who’s leading off again, has registered a 1.055 OPS this year. The only Orioles center fielders to start a season with a higher OPS through the first 20 games of a season are Brady Anderson (1996, 1997) and Adam Jones (2009, 2015).

For the Orioles

Cedric Mullins CF
Adley Rutschman DH
Gunnar Henderson SS
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Tyler O’Neill RF
Heston Kjerstad LF
Jordan Westburg 3B
Gary Sánchez C
Jackson Holliday 2B

Dean Kremer RHP

For the Nationals

James Wood LF
Nathaniel Lowe 1B
Luis García Jr. 2B
Keibert Ruiz C
Josh Bell DH
Dylan Crews RF
José Tena 3B
Jacob Young CF
Nasim Nuñez SS

Mitchell Parker LHP

Brendan Mortensen is in D.C. for the series. I’ll join the team in Detroit.