Insider Suggests Miguel Rojas Could End Up as Every Day Shortstop

The Dodgers swung a trade on Wednesday, sending shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya to the Marlins for veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas. News that a trade was in the works came down Wednesday afternoon, and Los Angeles officially announced it a couple hours later.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this trade is that no one knows exactly what it means. Rojas is an excellent defensive shortstop, but he hasn't really hit like a big-leaguer other than in the pandemic shortened 2020 season, when he posted a 138 OPS in 40 games. Even including that partial season, Rojas has a career OPS+ of 85.

Still, his outstanding defense at short has to be appealing to the Dodgers, who are currently slated to have Gavin Lux at the position. Lux has the athleticism to play short, but many wonder whether he has the arm and the footwork to excel there.

Dodgers beat writer Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic thinks Rojas could slot in as the starting shortstop.

Adding Rojas at the shortstop position allows the Dodgers to keep Lux at second base – where he put together his best big league performance as an everyday player last season – and frees Chris Taylor up to bounce between second base and the outfield, another area of need for the Dodgers.

Rojas will also get to add another chapter to his time in Los Angeles, which included a sterling defensive stab in the seventh inning of Clayton Kershaw’s 2014 no-hitter and his inclusion in the first major trade of Andrew Friedman’s tenure as Dodgers president of baseball operations – he, along with Dee Strange-Gordon and Dan Haren went to Miami for a return that netted the Dodgers left-hander Andrew Heaney, reliever Chris Hatcher as well as two core members of the 2020 World Series-winning club, Enrique Hernández and Austin Barnes.

On the other hand, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times suggests the plan is for Rojas to be more of a utility infielder.