Jake Rogers' White Sox walk-off adds insult to injury of Tigers' failed trade deadline

Jake Rogers has formed a habit of turning himself into a folk hero wherever he goes. He was Rake Rogers in Detroit (even if its usage was a little sarcastic at times), had fans mourning his short stint in Boston after being DFA'ed by the Red Sox because of his productivity, and he just hit a walk-off homer for the White Sox on Friday night.

Tied in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on third and two outs, Rogers hammered a two-run homer off of viral Mets pitcher Jefry Yan (who deserves to be clowned upon for pointing skyward after Rogers made contact, seemingly believing the ball to be a simple pop-up). The White Sox as a whole came back from a four-run deficit with a tying rally in the sixth.

Their 68-62 record is the fourth-best in the American League and the best outside of the AL East.

It hurt when Rogers immediately started performing with the Red Sox, but this one hits different. This time, he's doing it for a division rival who are currently sitting as the No. 2 seed in the AL, a somewhat comfortable 3.5 games north of the second-place Guardians.

Jake Rogers' walk-off homer for the White Sox hits Tigers fans hard

The Tigers' decision to let go of Rogers is still justified. His playing time was dwindling down to nothing by the time he was DFA'ed, and he wasn't hitting when he was in the lineup. But that doesn't make what he's been able to to do since he left Detroit — whether it's entirely by his own doing or by these other teams' abilities to unlock something in him — any easier. Neither does the fact that this insane streak most likely won't last.

Detroit's return for him was about what you would expect from a fading backup catcher, but that's not even the issue either. Rather, every feat that Rogers or Tarik Skubal accomplish with their new teams is a reminder of what the Tigers didn't do at the trade deadline.

They didn't add to the bullpen, which has become Detroit's most glaring weakness as their August starts to look a lot like their May. A late-inning reliever was the only thing Scott Harris and the front office was said to be looking for, but they've had to settle for signing released Braves pitcher Tyler Kinley.

We just have to be happy that Rogers has landed with a winning team at this point. Even bitterness between division rivals has to go out the window when the gap between them and the Tigers is this big.

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