After his twin brother was acquired by the San Diego Padres earlier this year, Giants reliever Tyler Rogers joked that the NL West had become "the best looking division in baseball." He now can use the same line about his bullpen.
The Giants have agreed to terms on a three-year, $33 million deal with left-hander Taylor Rogers, the team officially announced Wednesday. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal was first to report the news on Friday. Taylor adds a much-needed boost for the bullpen, although things are certain to get confusing around Oracle Park, especially since the twins have been known to prank a friend or two in the past.
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Rogers will make $9 million in 2023 and $12 million in both 2024 and 2025. Rogers also will make a donation to the Giants Community Fund of $45,000 in 2023 as well as $60,000 in both 2024 and 2025 as part of the deal.
The reunion is something the twins had hoped for all winter and came on the heels of the Giants reportedly agreeing to a two-year deal with outfielder Michael Conforto. After failing to close a deal with Carlos Correa, the Giants moved quickly to fill other holes.
The Giants had been looking all offseason for a proven arm to pair with closer Camilo Doval late in games. They made a run at Kenley Jansen, hopeful that he could take some of the pressure off Doval, who was worked hard last season. But Jansen signed a two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. In a lot of ways, Taylor Rogers is a better fit.
A left-handed pitcher who has a fastball in the upper 90s, he will immediately become Gabe Kapler's go-to arm from the left side. Taylor also has plenty of experience in the ninth, with 81 career saves and 31 last season for the Padres and Brewers.
The Giants saw plenty of him early and didn't have much success, although Taylor's season took a downward turn over the summer and he had a 5.48 ERA after a trade to Milwaukee. He had a 4.76 ERA overall in 2022 but is at 3.42 for his career, with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
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San Francisco Giants
Given that Tyler is locked in as a setup man, there should be plenty of games next season where the twins warm up side by side. They have not played together since high school in the Denver area, but they train together in the offseason and have talked to Giants employees about being reunited.
The brothers became the fifth set of twins to play in the same MLB game last season. They now look poised to do it dozens of times in 2023.