Ex-Red Sox Jake Rogers Takes Stance on Being DFA'd by Boston

A tough situation to navigate — but the Sox did it.

Aug 7, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Raymond Burgos (79) and catcher Jake Rogers (46) react after defeating the Athletics at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jake Rogers' summer has turned into a traveling circus, and the Boston Red Sox were only a brief part of it.

Rogers, who played 100 games behind the plate as recently as 2024, was designated for assignment by his longtime team, the Detroit Tigers. That happened in mid-July, and within the next three weeks, the veteran played for four different teams.

After being claimed on waivers by the Baltimore Orioles, Rogers was included in the blockbuster trade on Aug. 3 that brought three-time All-Star Adley Rutschman to Boston. When Rutschman came off the injured list the next week, Rogers was the obvious candidate to be let go, and he was DFA'd to make room for Rutschman on Aug. 11.

Rogers talks feelings on Boston cut

Rogers, who landed the backup catcher job with the Chicago White Sox in a waiver claim last week, said this week that he totally understood why chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and the Red Sox front office made the decision to let him go.

“Obviously, when the trade happened with Adley, I knew [I was] just playing the game for a little bit. I figured that once he came back, they had to make a move and it seemed like I was a choice,” Rogers said, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. "Breslow and everybody in Boston couldn't have been nicer and handled the whole situation perfectly.”

Rogers wasn't a total afterthought in Boston's season, especially for only having three games to his name. Not only did he go 3-for-6 (two more hits than Rutschman had in his first five games with Boston), but he drove in a crucial game-tying run in extra innings against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 6 in the most electric win of the season (12-11 in 13 innings).

The Red Sox weren't going to choose Rogers over longtime Boston backstop Connor Wong for the backup job to Rutschman. You'd rarely see a team completely overhaul its catching mix two-thirds of the way through the season anyway, and Wong was also having a better overall season than Rogers.

Still, there's no doubt Rogers' tenure with the Red Sox felt unfinished, even if it started with a predetermined end date.

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