José Rojas (born February 24, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

in the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

organization. He attended

Fullerton College Fullerton College (FC) is a Public college, public community college in Fullerton, California. The college is part of the California Community Colleges System and the North Orange County Community College District. Established in 1913, it is the ...

and

Vanguard University Vanguard University of Southern California is a private Christian university in Costa Mesa, California. It was the first four-year college in Orange County. The university offers over 39 undergraduate degrees and emphases in 15 different departme ...

. Rojas was selected by the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

in the 36th round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, and made his MLB debut with them in 2021. He has also played in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) and ...

Amateur career

Rojas attended

Anaheim High School Anaheim High School is a public, four-year high school in the city of Anaheim, California, United States and serves students living in the Colony District of Anaheim. Anaheim High School was first established in 1898, which makes it the oldest o ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

. Undrafted out of high school, Rojas attended

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

for two years (2013 and 2014). He then transferred to

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

for his final two years (2015 and 2016) of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. Rojas was selected by the

in the 36th round, with the 1086th overall selection, of the

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels

Rojas made his professional debut in 2016 with the

Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home o ...

, hitting .308/.372/.471/.843 with five home runs and 31 RBI. He split the 2017 season between the

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchise ...

and the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

, combining to hit .286/.321/.438/.759 with 11 home runs and 70 RBI. Rojas split the 2018 season between Mobile and the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

, hitting a combined .289/.355/.501/.856 with 17 home runs and 71 RBI. He was assigned back to Salt Lake for the 2019 season, slashing .293/.362/.577 with 101 runs (2nd in the league), 39 doubles (2nd), 7 triples (3rd), 31 home runs (5th), 107 RBIs (leading the league), and 141 strikeouts (5th) over 126 games. Rojas did not play at all in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On March 31, 2021, the Angels selected Rojas to the 40-man roster. He made his major league debut on April 2, pinch hitting for

Max Stassi Max Robert Stassi (born March 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Oakland Athletics drafted him in the fourth round of the 2009 MLB draft. In 2013, Stassi made hi ...

. On April 14, Rojas recorded his first major league hit off of

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

pitcher

Tyler Zuber John Tyler Zuber (born June 16, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He made his MLB debut in 2020 with the Kansas City Royals. Amateur career Zuber attended White Hall High School in White ...

. In 216 at bats in AAA, he hit .259/.328/.431. On May 23, 2022, Rojas was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. On May 30, Rojas cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. On August 2, the Angels selected his contract from Salt Lake. On September 1, Rojas was again designated for assignment. In 280 at bats in AAA, he batted .275/.350/.571. In his career in the major leagues with the Angels, he played 31 games in right field, 24 games at third base, 14 games at second base, 10 games in left field, and 2 games at first base. In 224 at bats, he hit .188/.245/.339.

San Francisco Giants

On September 4, 2022, Rojas was claimed off waivers by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. In 7 games for the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

, he went 7–for–27 (.259) with 2 home runs and 2 RBI. On September 16, Rojas was designated for assignment by the Giants following the waiver claim of

Taylor Jones Taylor Michael Jones (born December 6, 1993) is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder in the Los Angeles Angels organization. From Kent, Washington, Jones attended Gonzaga University and played college baseball for the Gon ...

. On September 18, he elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment.

Doosan Bears

On October 26, 2022, Rojas signed a one-year deal with the

of the

. Rojas made his KBO debut as the starting right fielder on April 1, 2023. In the game Rojas hit a walk-off three-run home run off of Moon Kyeong-chan to seal a 12-10 victory over the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pro ...

New York Yankees

On January 18, 2024, Rojas signed a minor league contract with the

.https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1748038956908720442

References

External links

Vanguard Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, José 1993 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Anaheim, California Bravos de Margarita players Doosan Bears players Inland Empire 66ers players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball infielders Mobile BayBears players Orem Owlz players Sacramento River Cats players Salt Lake Bees players Vanguard Lions baseball players Yaquis de Obregón players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea