Miguel Elias Rojas Naidernoff (born February 24, 1989) is a

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

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. ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2014 and also played in MLB for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

from 2015 to 2022.

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds

Rojas was signed by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2006, and played in their minor league system through 2012, making it as far as the AAA

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

to end his 2012 season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

20140919 Miguel Rojas coming off the field

After the 2012 season, Rojas became a

and signed with the

organization. He spent the 2013 season with the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League, where he hit .233 in 130 games. In 2014, he received a non-roster invite to Major League spring training, where he was given a chance to compete for the vacant second base job. The Dodgers assigned him to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

to start 2014, where he hit .302 in 51 games. The Dodgers promoted Rojas to the major leagues for the first time on June 6, 2014. He made his major league debut that day as a late-inning defensive replacement. His first hit was a single off

Matt Belisle Matthew Thomas Belisle (beh-LYLE; born June 6, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twin ...

of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in his first start on June 8. Rojas finished the 2014 regular season hitting only .181 with one home run and nine RBIs in 85 games. He frequently took over for

Hanley Ramírez Hanley Ramírez (born December 23, 1983) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Indians. Ram� ...

at shortstop late in games for defensive purposes. On June 18, he successfully made an extremely difficult defensive play to preserve a no hitter thrown by

Clayton Kershaw Clayton Edward Kershaw (born March 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) . He has played for the Dodgers for the entirety of his MLB career. A left-handed starting p ...

in the 7th inning.

Miami Marlins

On December 10, 2014, the Dodgers traded Rojas, along with

Dee Gordon Devaris "Dee" Strange-Gordon (born April 22, 1988) is an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and center fielder who is currently a free agent. He has played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Mar ...

and

Dan Haren Daniel John Haren (born September 17, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Haren played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Wa ...

, to the

in exchange for

Andrew Heaney Andrew Mark Heaney (born June 5, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in the MLB for the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees and Los An ...

, Chris Hatcher,

Austin Barnes Austin Scott Barnes (born December 28, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Barnes was selected by the Florida M ...

, and Enrique "Kiké" Hernández. In 2015, Rojas batted .282/.329/.366 with one home run and 17 RBI in 142 at-bats across 60 games. This earned Rojas more playing time the next season as he appeared in 123 games, slashing .247/.288/.325 with one home run and 14 RBI. In 2017, Rojas missed 62 games due to a broken thumb, but still appeared in 90 games, hitting for a .290.361/.375 batting line with one home run and 26 RBI in 272 at-bats. Rojas also led all NL shortstops in September and October with a .354 batting average and .948 OPS. In 2018, Rojas set career-highs in nearly every offensive category; games played (153), runs (44), hits (123), home runs (11), RBI (53), and stolen bases (6). In 2019, Rojas batted .284/.331/.379, with the lowest isolated power in the National League (.095). On September 23, 2019, Rojas agreed to a new two-year contract with the Marlins, worth $10.25 million. In late July 2020, Rojas tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Despite testing positive, Rojas partnered with the company ''Stadium Custom Kicks'' during the 2020 season, branding the partnership as ''Miggy's Locker''. The partnership allowed Rojas to design custom-made cleats to express his passion in shoes and basketball. Overall in 2020, Rojas's batting line was all career-highs, with a .304/.392/.496 line on the year to go along with four home runs and 20 RBI. In 2021, Rojas played in 132 games, collecting 131 hits, 48 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and a career-high 37 walks. On October 28, 2021, the Marlins signed Rojas to a two-year contract extension worth $10 million.

Los Angeles Dodgers (second stint)

On January 11, 2023, Rojas was traded back to the Dodgers in exchange for Jacob Amaya.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Miguel 1989 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona League Reds players Billings Mustangs players Carolina Mudcats players Chattanooga Lookouts players Dayton Dragons players Dominican Summer League Reds players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Louisville Bats players Los Angeles Dodgers players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball shortstops Miami Marlins players New Orleans Baby Cakes players New Orleans Zephyrs players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players People from Los Teques Tiburones de La Guaira players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan Summer League Reds players Venezuelan Summer League Devil Rays/Reds players Venezuelan people of Bulgarian descent