How Johan Rojas' Suspension Impacts Phillies' Roster

Major League Baseball on Monday afternoon announced that Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas has been suspended 80 games without pay for testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing drug.

Rojas will serve the suspension to begin 2026 and will be ineligible to play in the postseason.

The news of Rojas' suspension had been reported two weeks ago as the reason why he did not play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. Without any official word, the Phillies continued to use Rojas in Grapefruit League games.

"The Phillies fully support Major League Baseball’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program and are disappointed to hear today’s news of Johan’s violation," the team wrote in a one-sentence statement.

Impact on Rojas

This is a big blow to the 25-year-old's career. Rojas was not likely to make the Phillies' Opening Day roster, as they're looking for more of a utilityman in their final bench spot. Dylan Moore is the favorite, while outfielder Bryan De La Cruz has hit throughout camp.

Even though he has not hit enough in 250 major-league games, Rojas did continue to serve a role here as the first right-handed-hitting option in center field should a need arise. The Phillies plan to play Justin Crawford every day in center and platoon Brandon Marsh in left field with Otto Kemp. Marsh is capable of playing center, as well. But if one of Crawford or Marsh suffers an injury, Rojas would have probably been the first call. He was also relevant if Crawford drastically underperformed against lefties.

Rojas will be eligible to return after the 80th game of the season, but not having him for the playoffs is a frustration. He could have served a purpose, just as he would have for the Dominican team in the WBC, as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. The Phillies may have a better option for the 26th spot on their roster seven months from now, but at least having Rojas as a choice would have been helpful.

Rojas is the third Phillies major-leaguer to test positive for PEDs in less than a calendar year. Jose Alvarado missed 80 games last season from mid-may through mid-August after a positive test for exogenous testosterone, and outfielder Max Kepler was handed a suspension in early January for testing positive for Epitrenbolone.

Next man up?

Beyond Rojas, the player on the Phillies' 40-man roster with the most experience in center field is 27-year-old, right-handed-hitting Pedro Leon, who played 1,757 innings there in the Houston Astros' minor-league system. Leon was optioned to Triple-A on Sunday as the Phillies' camp cuts continued. The Phils claimed him off waivers from the Orioles in late November, two weeks after Baltimore claimed him from Houston.

Leon played seven games in the majors for the 2024 Astros and has exactly 400 games of Triple-A experience. The Cuban outfielder played a ton in camp defensively for the Phils with a team-leading 16 games entering Monday. He will open up at Triple-A.

Down the depth chart

Other Phillies minor-leaguers capable of playing center are farther away. Dante Nori, their 2024 first-round pick, has started 110 games in center in the minors but has only a handful of games at Double-A. The 21-year-old has been Team Italy's least experienced but best offensive performer in the World Baseball Classic, surely a confidence-building few weeks. A 2027 MLB debut is more realistic for Nori than 2026.

Cade Fergus, 25, has over 1,000 minor-league innings in the Phillies' system at center field but has hit just .199 in 285 games.

De La Cruz has not played any center field in spring training for the Phillies. He has 61 big-league starts there, but most came in 2021 and '22. He hasn't played the position since August 2023.

In free agency, the center field market was barren to begin with and there is little of note left, though more players should become available this week after being cut by other teams or opting out of non-roster deals.