For three years, Tyler Rogers had a plan. He had been the first one to receive the news that his twin brother, Taylor, had been promoted to the big leagues by the Minnesota Twins, and Tyler knew that he would return the favor, calling Taylor right away if the Giants ever called him up.
The Rogers family got to experience the second call late last August, and on the night Tyler finally made a well-deserved MLB debut, Taylor locked down one of his 30 saves for the Twins. He was stoic afterward while discussing the performance, but the emotion was clear in his voice as he discussed developments halfway across the country.
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"He deserves it," Taylor said of Tyler, his voice cracking.
As Tyler discussed that day on this week's Giants Insider Podcast, he felt his own emotions. He explained how he did something pretty cool in the offseason to show his brother his appreciation.
"That was very emotional," Tyler said. "The Giants do such a great job with your first pitch. They give you a nice little case and it's labeled, your first pitch with the date and everything. I got back to Colorado for the offseason and I gave that first pitch (ball) to my brother because I knew how much it meant to him ... man, I'm getting choked up talking about it, too. That was really cool. Once I got that ball I knew I wanted Taylor to have it."
Tyler was proud to follow his brother's footsteps, although the two took very different paths. Taylor, a hard-throwing left-hander, has been up since 2016. Tyler, a submarining right-hander, had to wait for his shot despite putting up dominant numbers in the minors. After 179 games in Triple-A, Tyler got the call in August and allowed just two earned runs in 17 2/3 innings. He carried that over to the spring, pitching so well that the new staff started thinking of him in a late-innings role.
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The Giants were supposed to visit the Twins' new stadium for the first time next month, and there's little doubt that Tyler would have made the trip. He would have been on the opposite side as his twin, a fun change of pace after years of keeping tabs from afar.
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"Getting to watch him every day is really special for me, and I get way more nervous watching him pitch than when I'm pitching," Tyler said. "I get the sweaty palms and everything going on."
For more from Tyler on that relationship, his long road to the big leagues, how close he came to giving up the game, and how he's dealing with this layoff, you can stream the Giants Insider Podcast here or download it on iTunes here.