DETROIT — These are emotional times. Every day at the park is fraught with tension. Players, coaches, executives and fans alike are coexisting with the uncertainty that surrounds them. There’s trade speculation. Talk of playoff odds. A sense, even if misleading, that every game is a referendum on the season.Before Wednesday’s 14-0 dismantling of the Baltimore Orioles, no symbol was quite as powerful as the empty locker on the east side of the Detroit Tigers’ clubhouse. That’s the locker Jake Rogers occupied for so many mornings while sipping coffee or afternoons while working on a crossword puzzle or solving an Immaculate Grid.Rogers was the 31-year-old catcher who offered more production than he sometimes gets credit for. He bopped 21 home runs in 2023. He caught every one of Tarik Skubal’s starts in 2024. That same year, it was Rogers who uttered the words that became a rallying cry for one of the most unlikely comebacks in baseball history: Don’t let the Tigers get hot.With his outlaw mustache and West Texas sensibility, Rogers was the sort of player who could be both class clown and wise elder sage. He was the ultimate glue guy, the type of player a front office does not remove from a clubhouse lightly.Tuesday, though, the Tigers designated Rogers for assignment as a surprise corresponding move for the activation of Javier Báez. The Tigers will likely attempt to trade Rogers before he clears waivers.From a baseball perspective, the move had its merits. Báez was ready to be activated. Eduardo Valencia, the catcher the Tigers brought up Monday in place of an injured Kerry Carpenter, has a big bat and represents the next wave of natural roster evolution. Rogers was playing sparingly behind Dillon Dingler, hitting only .161 in 93 at-bats this season.This transaction still hit harder than most. Rogers was the fabric of this team, one of its leaders and one of the longest-tenured players in the organization. Part of the return for Justin Verlander in 2017, Rogers was once a beacon of hope for the future.