Twins reliever Taylor Rogers celebrates 10 years of service time

NEW YORK — When Taylor Rogers reached free agency this offseason, this day was on his mind. A young Taylor Rogers would have never thought he was going to make it to 10 years of service time — a milestone that fewer than 10 percent of players get to — but as he started to near the accomplishment, coming back to the place his career started felt like a natural fit. “When last year ended and I knew I was close, I wanted to do it somewhere where I wanted to be,” Rogers said.

“Hell, I’ve got to be the luckiest guy around, starting in a place that I liked, play with my brother (Tyler) for two years, and then come back to that place. That’s got to be a storybook thing. ” Rogers, 35, celebrated 10 years of major league service time on Tuesday in New York before the Twins took on the Mets, just weeks after teammate Byron Buxton did the same.

Both were part of the Twins’ 2012 draft class. “Obviously, it’s a lot of people who come and go throughout this game, so to be able to celebrate it with him and we started our career here together, it’s very special, for sure,” Buxton said. Buxton remembers watching Rogers back when the two were in the lower levels of the minor leagues.

It was early August 2013 and Rogers, then a starter, threw a complete game, allowing no runs and striking out seven for Class A-Advanced Fort Myers. Buxton got the feeling he was watching somebody special. “That was kind of the first time I was like, ‘Alright, Rog is going to be here a long time,’ ” Buxton said.