Miguel Rojas makes his case to Marlins: ‘I want to be here for the rest of my career’
As Miami Marlins shortstop and de facto team captain Miguel Rojas prepares for the present, he’s also keeping an eye on his future — both in the short- and long-term.
Years from now, once he hangs up the cleats and stops taking his spot in the infield, Rojas hopes to become a manager. If that doesn’t work, a career in media is possible. He’s one of six players who is part of a podcast project with former MLB Network host Chris Rose and also spent three games as an color analyst for IVC Networks, a Venezuelan subscription television channel, during the Caribbean Series. Rojas, an avid sneaker collector, last season partnered with Stadium Custom Kicks to start a line of Rojas-designed sneakers and cleats under the “Miggy’s Locker” name. The collection has since grown to include seven designs.
“I don’t want to close doors,” Rojas said. “I want to get my feet wet in everything that I can.”
Back in the present, the father of two heading into his eighth major-league season has two objectives.
He wants to see the Marlins succeed for years to come.
And he wants to be part of the team when that success happens.
After all, Rojas was one of the first to publicly voice that he was invested in the team’s rebuild that has been orchestrated by the Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter ownership group.
The rebuild begins its fourth season Thursday when Miami opens against the Tampa Bay Rays at Marlins Park, soon to be formally known as loanDepot Park. It also comes on the heels of the Marlins making their first playoff appearance since 2003, the first tangible sign of the roster overturn during the 2018 and 2019 seasons paying off at the big-league level.
With the success trickling in, and the plan coming into focus after losing 203 combined games during the first two seasons, the player teammates call “Miggy Ro” sees how close the Marlins are to reaching their full potential.
But there’s a potential quandary on a personal level. Rojas, 32, is entering the final year of his contract, although the contract does include a mutual option for the 2022 season. The Marlins also have Jazz Chisholm Jr. pegged as their shortstop of the future.
If Rojas has his way, he and the organization will carve out a long-term role.
“I wanted to be here in 2018 and even more now in 2021,” Rojas said. “I want to be here for the rest of my career. I’ve always said it and I’m not just saying it from my mouth, but I feel in my heart. My family and the people in South Florida know that I want to stay here. I know this is a year and I have this option for next year, but the organization knows and everybody knows the way that I feel about this organization. Now more than ever, I want to spend the good times and the good years that are ahead ... I want to spend them in Miami. Hopefully I can stay here, and hopefully I can be part of a championship team.”
Rojas’ investment in the Marlins
It started with a simple proclamation. The trade deadline was fast approaching in July 2019, the Marlins were almost 20 games under .500 en route to a 57-105 season and Rojas’ name at times had been floated around as a potential player to be traded.
Rojas, however, didn’t want to go anywhere.
“I’m all in on this project right now and this organization,” Rojas said then. Whatever they preach, whatever they bring to the table, I’m all in.”
His actions have backed up his words.
Rojas, in his first season as an everyday starting shortstop, quickly started to become the face of the Marlins. On the field, he was finding success, with his production at the plate starting to approach the level of his high-caliber defense. In the clubhouse, he was commanding respect at the same level as guys such as Martin Prado.
Miami rewarded Rojas with a two-year contract extension before the end of the 2019 season.
“When you have players like that, who are your best players, believing what you’re going to do, it goes a long way in that clubhouse,” CEO Derek Jeter said last season. “Miggy wants to be here.”
General manager Kim Ng at the start of spring training added: “Miguel is a really interesting guy, an interesting player. He takes great pride in being a leader.”
He also takes pride in his performance on the field, which has steadily improved.
Rojas’ OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) has improved from .643 in 2018 to .710 in 2019 to .888 in the shortened 2020 season. He was a Gold Glove Award finalist at shortstop last season, as well.
“I’m going to quit setting the bar on Miggy,” said Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who has overseen Rojas’ development since their days together with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “Every time you say that’s as good as he can get, he gets better.”
Rojas’ perspective on his improvement is simple.
“I just want to be a complete hitter,” Rojas said, “not just a guy who can hit for power or just put the ball in play or not striking out much and walking. I just want to be that complete player.”
Ready for the season
Rojas’ continued development will be integral for the Marlins as they try to build on last season’s success. Despite a COVID-19 outbreak three games into the season that resulted in 18 players testing positive — Rojas among them — Miami went 31-29 and clinched its first playoff berth in 17 years. The Marlins went on to sweep the Chicago Cubs in a best-of-3 wild card series before being swept themselves in a best-of-5 series with the Atlanta Braves.
Despite being in arguably the toughest division in baseball, a revamped NL East, Rojas and the Marlins don’t plan on backing down.
“We can’t wait to start the year on Thursday,” Rojas said. “We’re not putting any pressure on ourselves because no one’s picking us to win. We’ve just got to go out there and show them what happened last year wasn’t just coincidence or a fluke.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 10:04 AM.
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