On Friday evening, news broke that Rogers had signed a contract with the defending AL-champion Toronto Blue Jays. The contract is for three years and $37 million, with a vesting option for a fourth year.

Rogers, of course, is a beloved Giant. The submariner, whose twin brother pitched for the Giants as well, was a 10th-round pick by the organization back in 2013. He slowly worked his way through the Minor League ranks, and his success is a testament to his perseverance: despite being more than 22-and-a-half years old when he was drafted, he wouldn’t make his MLB debut for more than six years, late in the 2019 season.

He became a staple of the bullpen a year later, and cemented himself as one of the best — and most consistent — relievers in baseball starting in the 2021 season. In these last five years, Rogers leads the Majors in appearances with 374 — 29 more than the next-closest pitcher (only 10 pitchers, including Rogers, have even reached the 300 mark in that span). He’s made at least 68 appearances in each of those five seasons, topping out at 81 in 2025. And in that time he has a 2.71 ERA and a 3.38 FIP.

When the Giants traded Rogers to the New York Mets at the trade deadline this year — receiving reliever José Butto and prospects Drew Gilbert and Blade Tidwell in exchange — many presumed that Rogers would return to the Giants in the offseason. He spoke fondly and lovingly about his time in the orange and black, and seemed to hold no ill will over being traded. It was clear that the Giants would need to sign some relievers, and it was equally clear that the interest was mutual.

The assumption that Rogers would return to San Francisco only grew when the offseason began, but it started to move in the other direction in recent days and weeks, with reporters like Alex Pavlovic suggesting that even Rogers would be a little too rich for the Giants’ checkbook this winter. That doesn’t mean they won’t sign someone to a bigger deal, but it started to become clear that they weren’t going to dole out eight figures annually to a setup man.

And so Rogers goes to a World Series contender, and one that is doing the opposite of what the Giants are: spending, spending, and spending some more. After losing in heartbreaking fashion in Game 7 of the World Series, the Blue Jays doubled down, and opened the offseason by inking starting pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year deal that will pay him $210 million. They remain the favorites to re-sign second baseman Bo Bichette, and are also sniffing around the markets for Kyle Tucker and Tatsuya Imai, among others. It’s good to see Rogers headed to a good team, where he’ll reunite with Kevin Gausman.

But I’ll miss him.