Scott Harris just destroyed Tigers' morale ahead of trade deadline with Jake Rogers move

The Tigers are staring down the barrel, just a few days away from the MLB trade deadline and seven games under .500, even after a resounding win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. Detroit's fate is sealed at the deadline, especially following their decision to DFA catcher Jake Rogers, who has personal ties to Tarik Skubal and is a beloved figure in the Tigers clubhouse. Outfielder Kerry Carpenter admitted as much.

"I think we’re all pretty torn up about it. ... A guy that you can always count on to lighten the mood and bring joy to the clubhouse and the dugout and the game," Carpenter said, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic.

Unfortunately for the Tigers clubhouse, they played themselves into this position. Harris and Detroit's front office is forced to look at such decisions from a pure baseball perspective. Rogers has a .567 OPS and is hitting under the Mendoza line for the third straight season. That doesn't make it any easier.

Timing of Jake Rogers decision could haunt the Tigers

The good news is Rogers' replacement, catcher Eduardo Valencia, had four hits and two home runs against Baltimore on Tuesday night. The bad news is that it's likely too late for the Tigers to change course on their deadline plans. Detroit is only four games back of the final Wild Card spot, held by the Guardians, but have four teams ahead of them as of this writing. Per FanGraphs, the Tigers have just an 11.6 percent change of making the postseason.

Rogers has been part of so many special Tigers moments the last few years. Whether it be celebrating Skubal's AL Cy Young victory, pitching a scoreless inning of his own or starting a Game 2 rally that would help the Tigers cement a Wild Card series victory over the hated Guardians, to see it all come crashing down just days before the deadline is deflating. It certainly doesn't help that Skubal could be next, especially as the Tigers start to field more serious calls about their ace this week, per Ken Rosenthal.

What comes next for the Tigers at the MLB trade deadline

As Rogers leaves the team, Javy Báez comes back and Skubal is on the verge of history at home. The Tigers ace acknowledged as much, admitting how excited he was to record his 1,000th strikeout at Comerica Park on Wednesday. He did so on his first batter of the game.

Whether Wednesday will be Skubal's final start as a Tiger remains to be seen. If Detroit can reel off a few victories in a row to close their AL Wild Card gap before Aug. 3 could persuade Harris to keep the two-time Cy Young winner around, but that will most likely come down to the offers the Tigers receive rather than their on-field play. That's been the case since early May, frankly, as AJ Hinch's team dug themselves too big of a hole to dig out of.

Those actions have deflating consequences. If Tigers fans thought losing Rogers was bad, the worst may be yet to come. It's not Harris's job to cater to our emotions.

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