SAN FRANCISCO — To be clear, Tyler Rogers isn’t complaining.
But, when a reporter interrupted his daily crossword in front of his locker in the relievers’ corner of the Giants’ clubhouse Saturday morning, the team’s submarining setup man did want to note one thing. It’s what he has told his managers on a near daily basis since asserting his spot in the backend of the bullpen five years ago.
“I think I’ve been available more than anybody in the league,” he said. “So I’m pretty much available for the All-Star Game.”
No pitcher in the majors has appeared in more games since 2020 than Rogers, and the numbers say the 34-year-old reliever has never been more effective than he has been this season. His 47 appearances once again lead the league, his ERA is a sparkling 1.47 and opponents are batting a meager .191 against him.
And yet, unless something changes in the next couple days, Rogers will merely be enjoying the time off rather than joining teammates Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and fellow bullpen denizen Randy Rodríguez in Atlanta for the 95th Midsummer Classic.
While Rogers didn’t want to advocate for himself because he wasn’t familiar with the selection process, his teammates and coaches were willing to say what he wasn’t.
“In my opinion, he should be on the team,” manager Bob Melvin said.
“I think he’s gotten robbed for a couple years now,” added catcher Patrick Bailey.
Garvin Alston, the Giants’ bullpen coach, took a deep breath and took a moment to gather his thoughts when asked about Rogers’ candidacy.
“I understand what baseball’s doing,” he said. “But to not consider him just because he throws differently, I just turned my eyebrow a little bit. Ty Rogers is unbelievable. He’s Mr. Consistency. We rely on him. We love him. To me, it’s a little disappointing he hasn’t gotten a call.”
Melvin advocated for Rogers to get the nod when it became clear Ray would be unavailable to pitch in the game, but Mets starter David Peterson was named as Ray’s replacement instead. When Phillies ace Zach Wheeler pulled out, the spot went to another reliever, but not Rogers: Adrian Morejon, the third member of the Padres bullpen to make the National League roster.
The apparent oversights had already caught the attention of those inside and out of the Giants clubhouse, but the controversy only gained steam when it came time to fill the spot of Matthew Boyd, the former Giants starter who put together an All-Star campaign with the Cubs.
In Boyd’s place, the league office selected Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers’ 23-year-old right-hander with only five career starts to his name. While Misiorowski regularly reaches triple digits on the radar gun and was considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, there has never been an All-Star with a shorter résumé.
“It comes down to numbers, and (Rogers) puts them up, so I’m a little surprised to see some of the other guys make the team that haven’t even been here for half a year,” Melvin said, without naming names.
Misiorowski broke the record set by Paul Skenes, another flamethrower with more hype than track record at the time who was named to the team last year after 11 starts.
“I understand wanting to bring youth into the game, but to an extent,” Ray said. “You’ve got to give recognition to the guys that have done it year in and year out. Skenes was a little bit different too because the hype was real. He was kind of dominating every start, so that one made a little more sense.”
Misiorowski has a 2.81 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 11 walks in 25⅔ innings — 20 fewer frames than Rogers has taken down out of the Giants’ bullpen.
“Obviously I’ve got nothing against the guy from Milwaukee that made it,” Bailey said. “But a guy who’s got five or six years in the big leagues of All-Star caliber seasons, and multiple years not getting (selected), I think that’s pretty messed up that Rog doesn’t get that opportunity.”
The selection prompted more outrage from the Phillies’ clubhouse, where Trea Turner told reporters it was a “joke” and Nick Castellanos compared the priority on entertainment value over recognition to the Savannah Bananas.
Misiorowski, a second-round pick and the Brewers’ No. 4 prospect according to MLB.com, doesn’t carry the same pedigree that Skenes did. But he does provide the kind of octane that teams covet and the league believes fans want to see, averaging 99.3 mph with his four-seam fastball.
Rogers, with his mound-scraping motion, mid-80s fastball and frisbee-esque slider, offers a look that even fewer fans get to see.
“I don’t think the fans appreciate him enough and how he does it,” Alston said of Rogers. “This day and age it’s all about how far you can hit it and how hard you can throw it. I think he gets lost in the mix of it.”
The Phillies’ complaints had to do with their own pair of seemingly deserving starters, Christopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez, not being selected. But Sanchez, like Ray, is scheduled to pitch Sunday and wasn’t believed to be available, though his agent later disputed that he had declined an invitation.
For Rogers, at least, availability isn’t a concern.
“I just don’t understand,” Alston said. “I think it’s just because he throws differently and he’s not a velo guy.”