Manager Don Mattingly stumps for infielder Miguel Rojas to be Miami Marlins’ All-Star

Don Mattingly was less than 24 hours separated from effectively escorting Miguel Rojas out on to the field at Marlins Park to yell at Mike Estabrook on Tuesday when he was hit with the question managers of last-place teams often have to at least briefly consider this time of year: Who did he think should be the Miami Marlins’ All-Star?

Mattingly first said he hadn’t given the question much thought, although he was able to scratch out an answer quickly. All he had to think about was the night before, when Rojas stormed out on to the field in the eighth inning of a blowout loss to the Washington Nationals to scold the home plate umpire for what both Rojas and Mattinlgy perceived to be an unfair strike zone. Not even considering statistics, Mattingly had to shout out his starting shortstop Wednesday.

“I think Miggy best represents our club — a guy that plays every day, battles every day,” said Mattingly, who also managed Rojas when both were with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He can play all over the field. he really knows how to play. If you ask me to say who I think our guy is if you’re going to say you have to take one, without dismissing anybody else I think Miggy is a great representative for us.”

By Thursday, Mattingly’s compliment had reached Rojas and the infielder had time to absorb what it meant to him: affirmation.

Rojas knows his offense numbers don’t stack up with most of the players who will be named to the All-Star rosters when teams are announced Sunday. Even among his teammates, Rojas knows his offensive numbers don’t stack up when his on-base-plus-slugging percentage is more than occasionally the second worst among the eight position players in the lineup.

Rojas insists none of this matters to him. It never has been — and still isn’t — the sort of player he is. Rojas is one of MLB’s consummate role players, a veteran willing to play any position he’s asked for the Marlins (30-48) and worry more about his influence on defense or in the clubhouse than his numbers at the plate.

“To be honest with you, that’s a big compliment for me. As soon as I realized that he said that yesterday, it was one of my biggest moments in my career because that’s why I come to the ballpark every day,” Rojas said. “I don’t come to the ballpark to say that I want to make an All-Star team, I want to win this Gold Glove, I want to win the Silver Slugger. You always come here to play for your teammates and play for the guys who are in charge to make the organization feel good about what you’re doing for them. I always put the organization and the team first. I think that’s why seeing this compliment from a guy like Donnie, it means the world to me.

“Even if I don’t make the All-Star team, or I’ve never been an All-Star or I never go to an All-Star Game that’s enough for me to say that I’m doing the right thing because I’m doing whatever it takes to make the team better, and helping this and the organization go to where we want to go.”

Still, the case isn’t totally crazy despite his below-average offensive production. Entering the series finale against the Nationals (39-40) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Miami, Rojas ranks second on the team with 2.1 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference, largely because of his 1.6 defensive WAR, the third best mark in the entire National League.

With a team-high five stolen bases, the defensive stalwart has entrenched himself as the Marlins’ leadoff hitter, and his .276 batting average and .342 on-base percentage are both third best on the team among qualifiers. The 30-year-old, who’s on pace to play more than 100 games for only the third time in his career, is having far and away his best offensive season as a full-time player, and he’s still a valuable utility piece who has played every infield spot except for third base in 2019.

“As soon as I walked into spring training, I said I want to make everybody around me a little bit better,” Rojas said. “It’s not someone from outside saying that I should be an All-Star. It’s someone that watches on a daily basis saying that I deserve that.”

Rojas might not be the favorite to be the team’s mandatory representative at the All-Star Game next month in Cleveland — slugging third baseman Brian Anderson leads the team in WAR and starting pitchers Caleb Smith, Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards and Jordan Yamamoto have all have a WAR of 1.0 or better, too — but making it while playing for Miami, Rojas said, would make an invitation, “the best moment of my life.”

Since he came to South Florida in 2015, Rojas has entrenched himself in the community because of how quickly the region embraced him. He’s the sort of fan favorite who can occasionally be spotted at AmericanAirlines Arena in the offseason to watch the Miami Heat play a random weekday game.

“As soon as I got here in 2015, everybody welcomed me, welcomed a backup player,” Rojas said. “They’ve been with me and behind me.”

It would all just be luxury.

“To be honest with you, I don’t care if I make it or not,” Rojas said. “That compliment and that word from Donnie means more.”

This story was originally published June 27, 2019 at 6:13 PM.