SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tyler Rogers lost his all-time favorite teammate on Jan. 29 when the Giants traded his identical twin, left-hander Taylor Rogers, to the Cincinnati Reds.

The right-handed submarine specialist was saddened if not especially surprised by the news. The Giants had put Taylor Rogers on waivers the previous season. It wasn’t much of a secret that the team was looking to move a chunk of his $12 million salary. But any awkward feelings were overcome by a greater sense of gratitude for the two amazing seasons that the Rogers brothers were able to spend as major-league teammates — a notion so impossible that they never even dared to dream about it.

As Tyler Rogers arrived at Giants camp, though, pangs of emotion gave way to practicalities. He lost more than having his brother as a teammate.

Barely two weeks before the start of spring training, he suddenly lost his catch partner, too.

After four official workouts, he still doesn’t have one. Tyler Rogers played catch with Robbie Ray one day. He went out to the back field with Logan Webb the next morning. He linked up with Trevor McDonald on Sunday. He still hasn’t found the right person. Pairing off catch partners is a deceptively big deal. It involves a little more junior-high dance floor anxiety than you’d think, too.

You’d expect that Rogers would have it easy finding a new catch partner, given that he’s been in the Giants organization longer than any current player.

“But I know I’m not the greatest catch partner, either,” he said. “People get scared by the submarine delivery. They don’t want to catch it. So it’s hard for me to find catch partners.”

Especially when he’s trying to replace the ultimate catch partner. The Rogers brothers share a Dec. 17 birthday, and from the time they started their pro careers, their present to each other was to play catch for the first time since the end of the season. Familiarity had its advantages. They could give each other instant feedback or pinpoint if something looked amiss. And because flat-ground catch play is an ideal time to mess around with a new grip or pitch shape, they felt comfortable experimenting on someone whose criticism would always be constructive and who would always have their best interests at heart.

“He’s seen me more than anybody,” Tyler Rogers said. “So if I passed his eye test, I knew I was good that day. Even if I didn’t feel great that day, if he says it looks normal, then I’d totally believe it.”

As forlorn as Tyler Rogers appears now while looking for a new friend, he’ll have a new pal eventually. The team is expected to carry eight relief pitchers, so there can’t be an odd man out. For now, he is sure of one thing: he won’t end up with closer Ryan Walker as his catch partner. When they started throwing to each other at the Papago Park complex last month, Tyler Rogers had to stop and retrieve a catcher’s mitt. Walker’s slider moves too much. His 97 mph sinker is designed to do two things: miss bats and bruise thumbs.

“No, I will not play catch with him again,” Tyler Rogers said, smiling. “All of his pitches except his fastball are tough to catch.”

What about catching Ray?

“Robbie, that’s not an easy task either,” he said. “But he hits me in the chest, like, every time. It feels like his fastball rises.”

And Webb?

“Playing catch with him, it’s like a Wiffle ball,” Tyler Rogers said. “It’s moving all over the place. So it’s been fun to see different looks after playing catch with the same person.”

The funny thing about watching Tyler Rogers play catch is that he does most of the session from a conventional arm slot, as if he’s throwing to bases. He’ll only start to drop down after he’s warmed up. Former Giant Dominic Leone got used to catching him when they were teammates in 2021. But if you haven’t seen that counterintuitive, rising slider before, it’s not a fun experience to have it hurtling toward your chin.

As for Taylor Rogers, who was living at his brother’s house in Scottsdale when the trade happened, he is rejoining his former catch partner with the Milwaukee Brewers, Brent Suter, in Reds camp. The bigger issues for Taylor might be that driving to the Reds complex in Goodyear can take an hour in traffic and that Tyler’s house isn’t the most placid place after he and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their second child on Jan. 8. They named him Nolan Ryan Rogers, although it’s more of a coincidence than a homage to the Hall of Fame pitcher. Jennifer’s maiden name is Ryan and it’s the middle name for both of their sons.

That’s another bummer about the trade. Uncle Taylor’s occasional domestic assistance was about to become more needed than ever.

Catch partners who can pull babysitting duty in a pinch? That’s what you call full service.

“We also have two great bullpen catchers who are always willing to go out there with you, so they’re my safety net,” Tyler Rogers said. “But someone’s got big shoes to fill, that’s for sure.”

Verlander already in teaching mode

It was expected that Justin Verlander would draw crowds to his bullpen sessions from the first day of camp. When he throws, at least a dozen pitchers cluster behind him and intently watch every pitch. What wasn’t so clear is how long it would take the soon-to-be 42-year-old (his birthday is Thursday) to feel comfortable offering advice to his new teammates.

The answer: not long at all.

Hayden Birdsong, still the youngest pitcher in camp, was surprised to see Verlander standing alongside pitching coach J.P. Martinez while he threw his session on Sunday. Verlander suggested that Birdsong move from the first base side of the rubber to the third base side, explaining that he would have a better attack angle with his fastball and it might allow his slider to induce more chase swings because it’d stay over the plate longer.

“Pretty cool,” Birdsong said.

Adames already taking on a leadership role

The Giants’ other veteran newcomer, Willy Adames, is making an immediate impression as well. Hitting coach Pat Burrell described a scene from a minicamp last month at Papago Park when Adames showed up to hit with a group of younger players, including Heliot Ramos, Luis Matos and Grant McCray. When Adames stepped in the cage for his round, he asked when Burrell was going to start calling out game situations with each pitch.

One of the younger hitters questioned why they would start situational drills so early. Adames responded that it’s never too early to start thinking about competing in the batter’s box.

“I almost fell out of my chair,” Burrell said. “Willie goes, ‘We get it in our minds now, we carry it into spring training, and we build on that trust from there.’ When you get veteran guys with a track record who have done great things, and they talk about the little things that add up, it means so much more coming from a player than it ever could coming from a coach.

“We’ve got to create awareness about what we’re trying to do and it’s got to start right now. We didn’t have a terrible time getting on base (last season). We had a terrible time getting guys in. Part of that has to do with a mindset of hitting with a guy on third and less than two outs. We’re talking about these things now. We want them to resonate on an early level here. Look, we have to score first and if we score four, in our ballpark, we’re usually gonna win. We played 90 games last year within two runs. We know we can scratch and claw a lot better.”