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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

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) Am ...

organization. He attended Fullerton College and Vanguard University. Rojas was selected by the

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

in the 36th round of the 2016 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2021. He has also played in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the Doosan Bears.

Amateur career

Rojas attended Anaheim High School in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. Undrafted out of high school, Rojas attended Fullerton College in

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 S ...

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

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

for his final two years (2015 and 2016) of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

. Rojas was selected by the

in the 36th round, with the 1086th overall selection, of the 2016 MLB draft.

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels

Rojas made his professional debut in 2016 with the Orem Owlz, hitting .308/.372/.471/.843 with five home runs and 31 RBI. He split the 2017 season between the Inland Empire 66ers and the Mobile BayBears, 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, 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 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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. 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

pitcher Tyler Zuber. In 216 at bats in AAA, he hit .259/.328/.431. On May 23, 2022, Rojas was designated for assignment. 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. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. In 7 games for the Triple–A Sacramento River Cats, 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. 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 Doosan Bears 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 () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation. From 1982 through 1985, they played at Gudeok Baseball ...

New York Yankees

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

. He was released by the Yankees on June 4, but re-signed with the organization on June 9. In 67 games for the Triple–A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, he batted .254/.359/.561 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI. Rojas was released again on July 14.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 25, 2024, Rojas signed a minor league contract with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. In 15 games for the Triple–A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, he batted .192/.288/.423 with three home runs and six RBI. Rojas was released by the Pirates organization on September 2.

New York Yankees (second stint)

On March 18, 2025, Rojas signed a minor league contract with the

.https://www.milb.com/transactions/2025-03-18

References

External links

Vanguard Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, José 1993 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Anaheim, California Bravos de Margarita players 21st-century American sportsmen Doosan Bears players Indianapolis Indians 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 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Vanguard Lions baseball players Yaquis de Obregón players