*Photo from AP News*
One task the Miami Marlins had this offseason involved infielder Miguel Rojas. They can cross that off their list. The Marlins and Rojas have agreed to a two year, $10 million extension, according to a press release made by the Marlins on Thursday.
Prior to agreeing to the extension, the $5.5 million vesting option for the 2022 season in Rojas's previous contract had been activated when he hit 500 plate appearances in the 2021 season. The extension will keep Rojas in town through the end of the 2023 season. Rojas had previously approached the Marlins front office about an extension during the regular season.
Rojas talked about his extension, saying that "I showed my commitment that I wanted to stay here and I wanted to be here throughout the whole process. I just want to make sure that I continue to be the rock that builds the foundation for this process, knowing that we have a lot of talent. But at the end of the day, my commitment is for me to continue to be a good shortstop on an everyday basis, and if they think I'm the best shortstop for this organization. And even when I'm not the shortstop, I can play every other position in the infield. I can be a good backup player, I can be a lot of things."
Last season, his 7th in a Marlins uniform, Rojas hit to a .265 average, with 9 home runs and 48 RBI during the season, with a .713 OPS in 132 games played. In 8 MLB seasons, Rojas has a career .265 average with a .685 OPS, hitting 33 home runs and driving in 233 runs, playing in 815 regular season games, split between the Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Marlins GM Kim Ng said of extending Rojas that "For us, this was an easy thing to do. Miguel embodies a lot of the things that we want as Marlins: on the field, a consummate professional, a great stabilizer for our defense. In terms of a leader, there's no one who showed more leadership skills out on that field than Miguel Rojas."
Last season, Rojas had a good time defensively, ranking 3rd among shortstops in all of baseball with 10.3 defensive runs above average, according to FanGraphs. Rojas was building off a good defensive season in 2020, when he was a NL Gold Glove finalist. For the last two seasons, Rojas has also been the team's nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.
Rojas talked about the future in Miami, saying that "Bottom line is for me to continue to get better every single year to help this organization get to where we're going to get, which is winning a championship and being on the right side of things. Winning, and winning it all. It's not just making it to the playoffs. It's not just being a competitive team."
The extension given to Rojas is likely the start of a busy offseason for Ng and company in the front office. Because ace of the rotation Sandy Alcantara will likely be due a big pay raise as he becomes arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason.
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