Rotel CD player

These older units do fail. It's not a question of "if" but rather a question of "when".

You are going to need professional tech assistance with a likelihood of new parts. Tech labour is about $100/hr (+ \ -)

The question becomes, is it even worth it after you add up parts and labour costs, versus buying a replacement unit.

Indeed, this kind of problem, frequently signals the death of the CD player. I have lost several to mechanical problems. I agree with Akg that this failure is not a matter of if but really of when.
How long have you owned it? This may be the time to consider its replacement.

Pop the hood and check inside. Might be the tray mechanism gear which can be replaced at little cost. I have a friend who has done so with a older Rotel. I have had this problem with a Carver player. It did not use a gear, rather a belt which could not be replaced without removing and taking apart transport. Looked into replacing the entire transport but decided it was better to buy a newer used player.

As advised above, if this is player is aged it would not be worth putting much money into, better to get another.