Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers is making progress with his rehabilitation process, but a return timeline remains in the air.
Ahead of Thursday’s series opener at home against the Kansas City Royals, Rogers said his oblique injury is starting to improve. The Tigers placed Rogers on the 10-day injured list on April 8 with left oblique tightness.
Rogers picked up the injury on a swing in the batting cages ahead of a game against the New York Yankees and immediately reported it to the team, who scratched him from the lineup that day and eventually placed him on the injured list after running tests.
“Today was a big step,” Rogers said. “(I) felt really good this morning when I woke up. It was kind of the first day that it felt better. Just doing what they are telling me to do in there and kind of easing into things. Going day-by-day and whatever they tell me to do tomorrow, I am going to do tomorrow and keep doing it.”
Rogers started at catcher in six of the first 10 games of the season before picking up the injury. Rookie catcher Dillon Dingler has been the primary replacement, while veteran Tomás Nido was called up from Triple-A Toledo and played in two games.
“He’s an incredible presence, been around a long time,” Rogers said of Nido. “He’s caught some incredible arms. He’s a great player and brings us a veteran presence in the clubhouse.”
The day after Rogers went on the injured list, manager A.J. Hinch said Rogers’ injury recovery would keep him out for awhile, initially saying an oblique strain could take up to a month to recover from.
“Generally speaking, those are a month or so, or more,” Hinch said on April 9. “That’s the rough (estimate), just to set some expectation that it’s not going to be a minimum IL stint.”
On Thursday, Rogers said the team trainers have not provided a potential timeline for a return. His rehab process consists of daily workouts with trainers to ensure he can handle stress on the oblique.
“I’m hoping in a couple weeks, we’ll be back going, but we’ll see what they say in the coming days,” Rogers said.
Keider Montero remains with Tigers
Pitcher Keider Montero, who started in Wednesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, remains with the team back in Detroit. Montero was called up from Triple-A Toledo to start as the Tigers navigate a 23-games-in-24-days stretch of the schedule in exchange for reliever Brennan Hanifee, who was optioned to the minors.
The Tigers are approaching pitching with a day-by-day mindset, Hinch said, and Montero could make another start in next week’s series against the San Diego Padres if the team needs it.
Montero picked up the loss on Sunday, going five innings with five runs allowed on eight hits, along with eight strikeouts.
“It’s possible,” Hinch said of another Montero start. “It won’t be this series, obviously, it would be in the San Diego series. We are kind of taking a day-by-day approach with our pitching. There was a lot that we liked coming out of yesterday’s game and we know he can help us win.”
Jason Foley to minor league IL
Jason Foley, a high-leverage reliever on the 2024 Tigers who started the 2025 season with Triple-A Toledo, was placed on the Mud Hens’ seven-day injured list with a right shoulder strain.
Hinch said Foley suffered the injury during an outing for Toledo last week, and the team is being cautious with the injury.
“He was visited by a trainer during his outing and then came out of it with some soreness in the shoulder,” Hinch said. “So, getting him evaluated. I feel for him because it comes at a time where he was starting to throw the ball pretty well and it’s starting to look like the player that we expected him to be this spring.”
