Rojas has simple goal: ‘I want to win in Miami’
It’s easy at times for Miguel Rojas to reflect at what he has accomplished to get to this point in his baseball career.
Betting on himself as a 16-year-old in Venezuela to sign as an international free agent in 2006.
Working his way up through the minor leagues as a defense-first shortstop (“his glove is good enough for him to make the big leagues,” read his Baseball America scouting report in 2010 back when he was still with the Reds) before making his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014.
Evolving, during the span of eight MLB seasons, from a late-inning defensive replacement to a utility player to a starting shortstop to the de facto team captain of the Miami Marlins, a team he has signed contract extensions with not once but twice — including the two-year extension he signed Thursday that keeps him in South Florida through at least the 2023 season.
“I never stopped believing,” Rojas said.
Individually, it’s quite a story, one Rojas takes pride in on the occasions when he reflects upon how far he has come.
But Rojas’ main focus is on the future, and his goals for the future are more collective than personal.
“Now that I’m at this point in my career, I just want to win,” the 32-yearold Rojas said, “and I want to win in Miami.”
Rojas has, frankly, seen a lot of losing during his seven seasons with the Marlins. The past four years, specifically: Since the start of the club’s latest rebuild under the Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter ownership group, Miami has gone 218-327. They lost at least 95 games in each of the three full seasons in that span, with the lone exception being a 31-29 season and run to the National
League Division Series in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
But Rojas remains adamant that the Marlins are on the right trajectory to become consistent contenders, especially if the front office holds true to its plans to be aggressive this offseason to supplement a roster that has seen its share of prospects finally take the needed step to show they can compete at the MLB level.
And he wants to be here when the winning starts.
“I showed my commitment that I wanted to stay here and I wanted to be here throughout the whole process,” Rojas said. “I just want to make sure that I continue to be the rock that builds the foundation for this process.”
Rojas continued to show that commitment when he approached the front office early in the season expressing his interest in staying with the club beyond the mutual option for the 2022 season.
“His desire to be here,” general manager Kim Ng said, “is quite evident.”
Rojas’ explanation for approaching the Marlins himself was simple: He felt the personal relationship that he had built with the front office — Jeter and Ng specifically — made it easier for him to directly start the conversation compared to having it go through agents or other representatives.
“I’ve been here for the last seven years,” Rojas said. “That’s why, for me, it’s easier to say myself and show what I want and what I really believe is going to be right for me and the organization.”
So discussions took place during the season before finalizing on Thursday. Ng said from the front office’s perspective, the contract extension was “an easy thing to do.”
“He’s a part of our solution,” Ng said, “and where we want to be in the future.”
Now, that doesn’t mean Rojas’ role on the field is necessarily set in stone.
He has been the Marlins’ everyday shortstop for the past three years, hitting .277 with a .732 on-base-plus slugging mark, 18 home runs, 114 RBI, 27 stolen bases and 138 runs scored over 304 games in that span. Defensively, he ranks third in FanGraphs’ total defensive rating among qualified shortstops during the past three years, trailing only Trevor Story and Paul DeJong.
But Rojas’ positional flexibility — he can play all four infield positions — and willingness to step away from the starting role if it’s for the team’s benefit also gives the Marlins added opportunities to enhance their roster.
“I didn’t sign to be the shortstop or the third baseman or the second baseman,” Rojas said. “I signed to be part of the team and to be, of course, a leader in that clubhouse, to help others that come here for the first time to be comfortable and to fit right in to what we’re doing here in Miami.”
Ng added: “I think the openness on Miguel’s part to take that role certainly was great to hear. As players get older, I think you always have to be conscious of that. I think Miguel is very conscious of that and has an understanding of where he is.”
And if the Marlins do decide to make a splash in free agency, with some big-name shortstops expected to be on the open market...
“I’m not going to be mad if they go after Carlos Correa or Trevor Story,” Rojas said with a smile.
“At the end of the day,” he continued, “if that’s going to make our team better, I’ll do whatever it takes for this team to be a winner.”
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126