Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Thursday that Rojas will have to earn the everyday center field job next spring, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Rojas slashed .302/.342/.430 over his first 164 major-league plate appearances during the 2023 regular season and became the Phillies' primary center fielder down the stretch, but the 23-year-old then went 4-for-43 (.093) in the playoffs as Philadelphia ultimately fell to the Arizona in the NLCS. Rojas jumped directly from Double-A to the majors in July and could perhaps spend some time at the Triple-A level to begin the 2024 campaign.
Rojas will be on the bench for the afternoon portion of Saturday's twin bill against the Mets.
Rojas finds himself on the bench for the second game in a row, though he's likely to return to the lineup for the nightcap. He's made a good impression in his first major-league season, hitting .298/.340/.418 with 14 steals in 156 plate appearances while playing strong defense in center field. He managed just two homers, and his miniscule 0.9 percent barrel rate suggests we shouldn't expect many more next season, but his glove should earn him plenty of chances to play even if he can't repeat his numbers at the plate. For now, it will be Brandon Marsh who starts in center field.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Day off Thursday
Rotowire
Rojas is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.
Rojas has slashed .342/.372/.488 over his last 45 plate appearances while taking over as the Phillies' primary center fielder, but he'll grab a bit of rest during Thursday's series finale versus Pittsburgh. Jake Cave, Cristian Pache and Nick Castellanos are starting across the outfield.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Steps out of lineup
Rotowire
Rojas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Rojas started the previous three games but will take a seat for Sunday's series finale. Brandon Marsh will shift to center field while Jake Cave receives a start in left.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Out of Wednesday's lineup
Rotowire
Rojas is not in Wednesday's lineup against Atlanta.
Rojas has played his way into a semi-regular role as a rookie, slashing .301/.344/.439 with two home runs, 12 steals and quality center field defense through 136 plate appearances. Jake Cave draws into the lineup at first base with Bryce Harper starting at designated hitter, pushing Kyle Schwarber to left field.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Belts two-run homer
Rotowire
Rojas went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Monday's win over Atlanta.
Rojas' second-inning home run was the first of five long balls for the Phillies on Monday. It was his second career homer and first since Aug. 11, snapping a 27-game drought. He's gone 8-for-20 (.400) with four extra-base hits over his last six games. Rojas owns a .300/.344/.442 slash line through 133 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
Rojas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at St. Louis.
Rojas started the past four games in center field and will receive a day off after he went 6-for-14 with three doubles, two steals, an RBI and two runs. Bryce Harper is serving as the designated hitter Sunday, resulting in Kyle Schwarber moving to left field and Brandon Marsh to center.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: On bench against righty again
Rotowire
Rojas is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.
Rojas has now sat out the Phillies' last two matchups with right-handed pitchers and looks to have moved into a short-side platoon role after Philadelphia recently welcomed Brandon Marsh back from the injured list. With Marsh set to start in center field more often than not, he'll likely be flanked by Nick Castellanos in right field and either Kyle Schwarber or Jake Cave in left field when the Phillies oppose righties.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Heads to bench in Marsh's return
Rotowire
Rojas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
With Brandon Marsh (knee) starting in center field Sunday in his return from the 10-day injured list, Rojas will be the odd man out of the outfield while Jake Cave and Nick Castellanos handle duties in left and right field, respectively. Like Castellanos, Marsh should be locked into a near-everyday role against right-handed pitching moving forward, leaving Rojas to battle with Cave for reps at the other outfield spots on days that Kyle Schwarber is serving as a designated hitter. Though Rojas is the superior defender of the two, Cave may have the edge on playing time at the moment after going 6-for-11 with four extra-base hits over his last three starts.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Sits down Saturday
Rotowire
Rojas isn't in the Phillies' lineup Saturday against the Twins.
After belting the first homer of his career during Friday's blowout win, Rojas will catch a breather Saturday. Jake Cave will take over in center field and bat eighth while Rojas sits.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Slugs first career homer
Rotowire
Rojas went 1-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Friday's 13-2 rout of the Twins.
The rookie's first career homer came in the eighth inning, as he launched a two-run shot off position player Jordan Luplow -- for which Rojas apologized as he crossed home plate, per Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 22-year-old center fielder is slashing .306/.338/.419 through his first 67 plate appearances in the majors with five steals, nine runs and 12 RBI.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Becomes regular in center field
Rotowire
Rojas went 2-for-3 with a pair of base hits in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Royals.
Rojas raised his on-base percentage to .356 with the two singles, though he effectively negated one of the base knocks by being picked off first base in the bottom of the fourth inning. The 22-year-old rookie has impressed with his contact skills, speed and defense in his limited action in the majors thus far, and Matt Gelb of The Athletic relays that Rojas should be solidified as a regular in the Philadelphia outfield for the foreseeable future after Brandon Marsh (knee) was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Heads to bench Thursday
Rotowire
Rojas is not in Thursday's lineup against the Marlins.
Rojas had started four games in a row, two against righties and two against lefties, before heading to the bench for this one. He is hitting .235 with two doubles, zero home runs, one steal and seven strikeouts in his last five games. Jake Cave draws the start in his place.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Nabs fourth straight start
Rotowire
Rojas will start in center field and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
Rojas will stick in the lineup for a fourth consecutive game, with two of his starts coming versus southpaws and two coming versus right-handed pitchers. The 22-year-old has held his own thus far in a limited sample of 32 plate appearances in the majors, slashing .310/.333/.345 with a palatable 25 percent strikeout rate. He's made his largest impact on the basepaths (three steals in three attempts) and on defense. If the Phillies commit to Rojas as a full-time player in the outfield, it would allow the team to deploy Brandon Marsh at a corner spot and move either Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos -- both defensive liabilities -- to designated hitter.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Another start Tuesday
Rotowire
Rojas is starting in center field and batting ninth Tuesday versus the Orioles.
It's the second straight start for Rojas, who had two singles and two stolen bases Monday. His high-level speed could offer intrigue in fantasy if he continues to carve out more playing time in the Philadelphia outfield. Jake Cave is on the bench Tuesday and Brandon Marsh is in left field.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Swipes two bags
Rotowire
Rojas went 2-for-4 with a pair of steals in Monday's loss to Baltimore.
Rojas showed off his wheels in his first start since July 18, adding two steals to improve to 3-for-3 on attempts this season. The 22-year-old rookie also tallied his second multi-hit game since he was recalled earlier this month -- he's now 5-for-15 with a .666 OPS through his first 16 big-league plate appearances. Rojas will likely continue to fill a bench role in Philly.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Returns to bench role
Rotowire
Rojas is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.
Rojas made three starts in center field during the Phillies' series with the Padres over the weekend, but he's found himself on the bench for the first two games of the series versus the Brewers while Milwaukee has brought right-handed starting pitchers to the hill Tuesday and Wednesday. He looks like he'll be limited to a short-side platoon role in the Philadelphia outfield while Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos are all healthy and available.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Shows off glove and legs in debut
Rotowire
Rojas went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut Saturday against the Padres but added a steal and an outfield assist.
Rojas' glove and legs are ahead of his bat at this stage of his career, but he was called up straight from Double-A Reading nonetheless to fill Cristian Pache's role on the small side of a platoon in center field while Pache battles elbow troubles. Rojas made an impact before his first plate appearance, tracking down a Fernando Tatis Jr. flyball at the wall and doubling off Ha-Seong Kim as he tried to retreat to first base. He didn't do much at the plate, striking out once and hitting a pair of groundouts, but he did manage to steal second in the fifth inning after reaching on a fielder's choice. He'll remain in the lineup for the second half of Saturday's doubleheader, again batting ninth and starting in center.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Johan Rojas: Summoned from Double-A
Rotowire
Rojas was recalled from Double-A Reading on Friday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Rojas was added to the Phillies' 40-man roster over the offseason and has had a breakout year at the plate, batting .306/.361/.484 with nine home runs and 30 stolen bases for Reading. He can play all three outfield spots and should fill the role vacated by Cristian Pache (undisclosed) as a short-side platoon option in center field for Brandon Marsh. It figures to be a short stay in Philly for Rojas, who will likely to head back to the minors when Pache returns from the injured list.
... See More... See Less
Player Bio
HT/WT: 5-11, 165 lbs
Birthplace: San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic
