Dodgers News: Miguel Rojas Details his Hitting Struggles This Season
The second coming of the Miguel Rojas era for the Dodgers has been... okay. Nothing great, nothing terrible. That's about what was expected of the veteran shortstop when he came back to LA via trade this past offseason. One thing that wasn't expected was the amount of time in the starting lineup that he's getting.
Of course, when the Dodgers lost Gavin Lux to a season ending knee injury during spring training, the depth chart took a hit for Dave Roberts and the front office. Rojas was pressed into a starting role and has provided well below league average offense (56 wRC+) with slightly above average defense at shortstop.
Nagging injuries haven't helped his case, but he's not using that as an excuse.
“The wrist has been good — it has nothing to do with the performance,” Rojas said. “After the spring I had, I felt like I would be an impactful offensive player, and that’s what I still believe. But the way I was in spring training, I haven’t shown that so far this year.”
He's also battled neck and leg injuries along the way, and even spent time on the injured list back in April. Since returning from the IL, he's hit .254 but with little power and has generally had issues getting on base (.293 OPS over his last 41 games). Rojas said he's still working to find his groove at the plate.
“I haven’t been able to find my swing on the inner part of the plate, where I’ve been pretty good throughout my career,” Rojas said. “I’m a pull hitter, but right now, I’m not able to get the barrel of the bat to the inside pitch, and I’m hitting a lot of popups to right field and hard ground balls to second base.”
He knows the Dodgers don't need him to be a slugger in the lineup or be the next coming of Corey Seager or Trea Turner. Rojas said he just wants to be a complete player.
As it stands, he'll continue to be run out there day in and day out at shortstop because, well, the Dodgers don't have any better options right now.
