LOS ANGELES — In a winter defined by bold headlines and blockbuster expectations for a franchise chasing history, sometimes the most meaningful move is the quiet one. The Dodgers’ agreement with infielder Miguel Rojas on a one-year, $5.5 million deal isn’t about splash or sizzle. It’s about stewardship, legacy, and the rare kind of connective tissue that holds a clubhouse together when October gets loud.
For Rojas, 36, this is the final lap — his 13th big-league season and a farewell tour that begins where it all started. The veteran made his debut with the Dodgers in 2014, carving out a name as a sure-handed defender and consummate teammate before spending eight years in Miami. When the Dodgers brought him back in 2023, the transaction barely pinged the league radar. Now, after back-to-back titles and one unforgettable swing in Game 7 last fall, Rojas exits as a franchise folk hero.
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Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) hits a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning during game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre.
It’s the home run that will echo longest: bottom of the ninth, World Series on the line, the unlikeliest of power bats tying the game with a postseason shot that instantly joins the canon of Dodger October lore. It was only the 59th homer of his career — his lone postseason blast with the Dodgers in four postseason appearances — but it’s the one that guaranteed he’d never have to buy a drink in Los Angeles again.
Yet ask anyone inside the walls of Chavez Ravine, and they’ll tell you his value goes far deeper than the box score. In 2025, he quietly hit .262 with seven homers and 27 RBIs, the kind of steady production you pencil in without thinking twice. But his presence was felt most in the dirt between second and third base, where he’s served as mentor, tutor, and safety net for Mookie Betts’ transition to shortstop.
Betts may be the superstar, but much of his defensive improvement these past two seasons has Rojas’ fingerprints all over it. Early work, late work, footwork adjustments, situational nuance — Rojas poured himself into Betts’ development the way elite infield coaches do. The Dodgers know this, which is why this deal is as much about 2025 as it is about 2026 and beyond.
When the season ends, Rojas plans to retire and slide seamlessly into a front-office and player-development role — and honestly, it feels like he’s already been doing that job for years. He’s the translator between analytics and instinct, the bridge between veterans and rookies, the voice who knows when to challenge and when to calm. In a clubhouse filled with stars, Rojas provides something scarcer: stability.
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Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas (72) reacts after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning for game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre.
As the Dodgers chase an unprecedented three-peat, this move signals something essential about how they believe championships are built. Superstars win games. Depth wins seasons. But culture — the everyday grind, the shared language of expectation and accountability — wins eras.
Rojas is part of that culture. He helped build it. Now he’ll help carry it into the next era.
His final season in Dodger blue won’t be defined by numbers alone. It will be defined by presence — one more year of glove work, clubhouse glue, and the kind of leadership you can’t fake. A final bow, yes. But also a future beginning. A career that started in Los Angeles fittingly ends here.
