On Wednesday, the Dodgers made a surprise deal, trading for Miami Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas. In return, the Dodgers sent over No. 15 ranked shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya. With the deal, Rojas returns to the place where he made his MLB debut in 2014 and where he should fit right back in right away.
The move made a ton of sense, as the Dodgers desperately lacked depth in the infield, especially up the middle. Just Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor had experience playing shortstop, and the Dodgers needed Taylor to play in the outfield. So, adding Rojas, who finished as a Golf Glove finalist last year at the shortstop position with 15 defensive runs saved above average, made sense.
Rojas is getting set for his second stint with the Dodgers and is very excited to be in Los Angeles for a second time. He knows he’s a different player than he was nine years ago, and while on local radio on Wednesday said that he’s looking forward to reconnecting with some familiar faces in the Dodgers clubhouse.
"Coming to a clubhouse with a lot of guys who have experienced going to the World Series like Mookie (Betts), all the guys in the Dodgers organization that won in 2020 plus Freddie Freeman. I mean, I played with Freddie really close to him throughout my career here in the National League. And then J.D. Martinez, I hit with him in the offseason. I know a lot of guys even before I got there. I just text Clayton Kershaw and I told him, 'it's time for me to play behind you again.' And that's one of the things I enjoyed the most throughout my entire career.
Rojas also said that he wants to continue to get better and help find ways for this team to win.
So, I'm happy to come back to see familiar faces in a different place in my career because I'm not the same player that I was in 2014. I've been learning a lot and hopefully I can actually help the clubhouse with all the things that I've learned throughout my career."
The Dodgers are coming off a disappointing end to the 2022 season, so hopefully the new guys can bring some new passion to the clubhouse.
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