Happy new year to all, and welcome back to the Dodgers Beat newsletter! Last week, my colleague, Christina De Nicola, caught up with a Dodgers World Series hero in Miami. Let's get into it … |
In the months since he hit an improbable, season-saving home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series, Miguel Rojas has learned what it means to have taken one of the most significant swings in Dodgers history. There are similarities to what Freddie Freeman experienced in the previous offseason, following his walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. Both homers resonated deeply with the fan base, to the point where it's nearly impossible to bring up either championship without mentioning those fateful swings, which have taken on a legend of their own. But Rojas was an unlikelier hero. He started in only four postseason games. He played through discomfort, which he said was similar to a back spasm that caused intercostal pain, in Game 7. He's typically more of a supporting player for the Dodgers, but when he hit one over the fence to tie the winner-take-all game down to the team's final two outs, there he was, on center stage. All of those things have made it special for Rojas to have fans come up to him and tell him what that moment meant to them. "I'm happy, humble, but I'm not shying away from it either," Rojas told De Nicola at last week's NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot park. "I asked for a moment like this my whole life. It happened to me, and now I'm just enjoying it." |
Rojas became a free agent after the season, but it didn't take long for him to reunite with the Dodgers on a one-year, $5.5 million deal in December. The 2026 season will be his final one in the Major Leagues, although Rojas already has plans for when his playing days are over: remaining with the Dodgers in player development. It should be a fitting opportunity for Rojas, who brings an important veteran voice to the clubhouse and has made his mark on the team culture over the past three seasons. He's served as a mentor for younger players, and even Mookie Betts greatly valued his insight while spending his first full season as a big league shortstop. Working in player development is an opportunity for Rojas to explore what comes next in the long run. He's looking forward to having more time with his family, and he wants to remain around the game. He has interest in managing at some point, as long as he finds that he's suited to coaching. "I want to be a manager, but I don't know if I'm going to have the abilities and the skills to do it," Rojas said. "I want to go out there next year and learn about everything that I can learn with the front office. I think the Dodgers have great people in the front office and the organization that can help me kind of understand what I'm going to be good at." |
Just as Rojas' big league career began with L.A. in 2014, so will his next chapter. And if he and the Dodgers play their cards right, perhaps he'll get the chance to have another big World Series moment before hanging 'em up. |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
The Dodgers are typically able to avoid going to hearings with their arbitration-eligible players, and this year was no different, marking the sixth straight offseason in which they have not gone before a panel. Ahead of Thursday's deadline for players and teams to exchange salary figures, the Dodgers settled with righty relievers Brusdar Graterol ($2.8 million) and Brock Stewart ($1.3 million), lefty reliever Anthony Banda ($1.625 million) and outfielder Alex Call ($1.6 million). |
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