Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas plans to retire after the 2026 season, he said Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation after last night’s win over the Phillies. The 36-year-old Rojas is an impending free agent and said he hopes to stay in Dodger Blue for the final season of his career.
“I’ve given it everything I’ve got, every night, for the four years I’ve been here,” Rojas said. “Hopefully I can finish my career here next year, because I’m retiring next year.” That will be Rojas’ thirteenth season in the major leagues and he has more than eleven full years of service under his belt.
It goes without saying that the Dodgers would like to keep him on another cheap one-year contract. Rojas is in his second stint with Los Angeles. He made his debut there in 2014 and was traded to the Marlins the following year. Rojas spent eight seasons in Miami, most of them as the starting shortstop. The Fish dealt him back to the Dodgers during the 2022-2023 offseason.
Rojas was in the final year of his contract with Miami. The Dodgers immediately signed him to an extension through the 2024 season, including a ’25 club option. They exercised the $5MM option after he hit .283/.337/.410 last year. Rojas has been nearly as productive this season, hitting .262/.318/.397 over 317 trips to the plate. While he won’t hit with much power, he still reliably puts the ball in play and provides good defense at second or third base. Rojas’ days as an everyday shortstop are behind him, yet he has made 10 starts and logged 117 innings at the position this year.
The Dodgers have used Rojas in five of their six postseason games. He started at second base for the Wild Card Series clincher against the Reds and was in the hot corner for Game 2 of the Division Series in Philadelphia. Rojas is a good addition to hitting left-handed Max Muncy at third base. He has been more productive than his fellow free agent utility this season Kike Hernández. It would make sense for the Dodgers to let Hernández walk and bring back Rojas for a new deal in the neighborhood of $5 million. If they let both players leave to open at bats Hyeseong Kim and/or newcomer Alex VrijlandRojas shouldn’t have a hard time finding a semi-regular utility position elsewhere.
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