ANAHEIM -- The Tigers look considerably different coming out of their three-game set at Angel Stadium than they looked coming into it. For a team that’s selling, the Trade Deadline is very much about looking to the future. Wednesday was a reminder of what that includes.

After All-Star reliever Shane Greene and outfielder Nicholas Castellanos were traded just as the finale was set to get underway, catching prospect Jake Rogers -- who made his Major League debut in the opener on Monday -- hit his first career home run to open the scoring in Detroit’s 9-1 win over the Angels.

• Box score

“It felt good off the bat,” Rogers said. “I took off running -- I wasn’t sure [it was gone], I wanted to be sure -- but yeah, it felt good. … [I was] trying to take it all in as much as I could. It was a really good, happy moment.”

• Tigers send Greene to Braves for prospects

Rogers, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Tigers’ No. 7 prospect, has wasted little time making an impression with his bat. In his first game, Rogers went 2-for-4 with an RBI. After sitting Tuesday, Rogers went 1-for-2 on Wednesday with the home run, a pair of walks and three runs scored.

• Castellanos traded to Cubs

Manager Ron Gardenhire said Rogers’ home run was “awesome,” and praised the rookie for his quick start.

“He’s going fine,” said Gardenhire with a smile.

The 24-year-old Rogers, who joined Detroit’s organization as part of the Justin Verlander trade in 2017, gives fans a glimpse of the long-term payoffs of a rebuilding phase. It’s welcome, especially on a day that the Tigers picked up four prospects to bolster a farm system that was ranked as the 10th-best system in the Majors heading into the season.

Seeing Rogers at the big league level makes the potential of Minor League acquisitions seem all the more real. There’s a good chance Rogers will one day catch left-hander Joey Wentz -- acquired from Atlanta in the Greene trade and joining Double-A Erie's rotation -- and right-handers Alex Lange and Paul Richan, previously two of the Cubs’ Top 30 prospects. He could very well share a lineup with outfielder Travis Demeritte, who had been having a career season with Triple-A Gwinnett. These aren’t just names, they’re probable future Tigers.

The flip side of the excitement for what’s to come, of course, is the tough goodbyes. Wednesday’s starter, Daniel Norris, has played with Greene and Castellanos since 2015, and he had grown close to them during that time.

“Those are two of my best friends on the team,” Norris said. “They’re happy for their new beginnings, and they’re gonna go play for good teams. But it was definitely weird coming into the dugout and [knowing] something had happened.”

Gardenhire, in his second year of managing the Tigers, knows there will be some adjustments to make as the two veterans depart from the team.

“They’ve been with us, they’ve been warriors, and it’s hard to see them go,” he said.