Breaking: Miguel Rojas to remain with Dodgers in 2025
The Dodgers are picking up their $5M club option for the services of shortstop Miguel Rojas in 2025, as reported by KPRC2’s Ari Alexander. The option came with a $1M buyout, meaning that L.A. is committing a net $4M to bring Rojas back into the fold.
The move hardly comes as a surprise given Rojas’s strong performance this year. The 35-year-old veteran delivered one of the strongest offensive seasons of his career in 2024, slashing .283/.387/.410 with a wRC+ of 111 in 337 trips to the plate this year. Rojas began the season in a bench role behind middle infield duo Mookie Betts and Gavin Lux, but a hand fracture suffered by Betts in June provided the opportunity for Rojas to step back into the daily lineup. Rojas was subsequently hampered by forearm and groin issues throughout the season and into the playoffs but managed to hit a respectable .286/.343/.392 while providing strong defense at shortstop in his final 62 games of the regular season.
By picking up Rojas’s option, the Dodgers maintain the flexibility to utilize him as their primary shortstop headed into 2025. With that being said, that role appears to be far from guaranteed to the veteran even after a strong season this year. After all, Rojas will play all of next year at 36 years old and the injury woes that plagued him in 2024 don’t appear to be going away; Rojas has already acknowledged that he’ll need to undergo surgery this winter due to a partially torn adductor muscle in his groin and a sports hernia. It’s not yet clear if Rojas will have enough time to rehab and get ready for the season in time for Opening Day next March, but even if he does it would hardly be a surprise if the Dodgers decided to push Rojas into a part-time role as they look for ways to improve this winter.
Perhaps the most straightforward way to do that would be acquiring a shortstop. Willy Adames is the top shortstop available in free agency this winter, and Ha-Seong Kim could be another potential upgrade over Rojas at the position depending on how his recovery from shoulder surgery goes. Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette stands out as a plausible trade candidate, though his down 2024 season makes him somewhat unlikely to move this winter. Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner has shortstop experience and saw his name floated in trade rumors late in the year, but his recent flexor tendon surgery may put an end to that possibility.
Adding a shortstop isn’t the only way the Dodgers could upgrade at the position over Rojas, however. The club dealt for versatile switch-hitter Tommy Edman at this summer’s trade deadline, and Edman offers quality defense all over the diamond, including at shortstop. Edman figures to handle center field for the Dodgers in 2025 as things currently stand, but it’s possible that the Dodgers could go out and acquire a center fielder like Chas McCormick, Cedric Mullins or even Luis Robert Jr. this winter on the trade market who would then push Edman back onto the infield.
If Rojas were to be moved back into a bench role by the club’s moves this winter, it would leave them with valuable infield depth capable of covering not only shortstop but also second and third base effectively while helping to balance out a heavily left-handed infield. Of course, it’s also possible the club simply sticks with Rojas at shortstop, relying on Edman to serve as depth at the position with Andy Pages and James Outman among the internal options who could step into center field on days Edman shifts over to shortstop. Such a plan could allow the club to be more aggressive in filling their vacancy in left field and bolstering a pitching staff that was once again wracked with injuries this year.
