After spring push, Rojas earns Opening Day job

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Having Johan Rojas in the Majors is in the Phillies’ best interest. It’s also in Rojas’.

That’s what president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski expressed on Monday at BayCare Ballpark, one day after the club announced that Rojas would be its Opening Day center fielder.

“I thank God and the Phillies for giving me this opportunity,” Rojas said, in Spanish, ahead of the Phillies’ 6-3 loss to the Rays. “I’m going to keep working hard at everything I’ve been doing this spring, trusting the process, so we can win a World Series.”

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Nothing was given to Rojas this spring, and his struggles at the plate furthered questions around his preparedness for a big league job out of the gate. But the 23-year-old kept his head down, worked on his swing and continued to show elite defense in center. It was enough for the front office and the coaching staff to make their call -- even if the results weren’t immediate.

“The main question I keep asking everybody is, ‘What's best for him?’” Dombrowski said. “And really, it came up in a very strong sentiment that this was the best thing for him.”

Rojas skipped Triple-A entirely, reaching the Majors on July 14 last season after 76 games at Double-A Reading, where he hit .306 with an .845 OPS. What got him to the big leagues was his defense, though, an area in which the Phillies have worked diligently to improve since 2022.

Fielding is once again the main reason why Rojas will break camp with the team, but Dombrowski also believes his offensive game has plenty to gain from facing pitchers at the highest level.

“You can go down to Triple-A and keep working on something, but that doesn’t mean, when you come to the big leagues, that you’re not going to have to work on the same stuff,” said Dombrowski. “Because there’s such a difference between Triple-A and the big leagues [in terms of pitching].”

That doesn’t mean it was an easy decision.

Dombrowski said there were “20 people in the room” for a thorough conversation that touched on all the pros and cons of having Rojas on the roster. The value was clear on one side of the ball (Rojas’ nine Outs Above Average ranked second on the Phillies last season, even though he joined the club halfway through the campaign). On the other side, the club is focused on keeping “his head above water.”

“If he does well enough -- and I don’t mean hit .300 -- he feels good, feels confident, he keeps feeling good about himself, [he’ll be fine],” said Dombrowski. “And the feeling is that he will do that. He is that way now, he works very hard. He’s continued to improve on what they're talking to him about. It doesn't always translate to the game, but we’re making strides.”

Rojas will hit ninth for the Phillies, at the end of a lineup that should command plenty of power when it starts to click. So the team doesn’t need him to drive that side of the ball. It just needs him to stay confident and make contact.

“He’s going to be the guy that gets infield hits -- as long as he makes good contact,” said Dombrowski. “It may not always be pretty, it may not always be the line drive. But he still adds to the club, and I do believe we're a better club with him.”

Rojas’ swing change has allowed him to simplify things, reduce his stride and better control the movement of his head and his body. The next step is to connect his lower half and his upper half. After that, the hope is that he’ll start seeing better results at the plate.

When he preaches trusting the process, Rojas means he’s staying patient.

“I’m not where I want to be yet,” said Rojas. “But when I am, it’ll be good. And it’ll be fun to see me play. … But you have to trust the process, because nothing happens overnight.”

While they’re letting Rojas figure things out in real time, the Phillies gave themselves some insurance by also adding Cristian Pache to their 26-man roster. Without any options remaining, Pache would have gone through waivers had he not made the team out of camp, so the Phillies are addressing two areas of need with one roster spot.

The opportunity is there, and so is the support. For now, Rojas can simply enjoy the anticipation of taking the field at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday.

“My first Opening Day,” Rojas said, smiling through a rare English interaction with reporters. “I’m so excited. I can’t wait.”