Rojas 'focusing on the process' as he adjusts to new swing

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Do the numbers matter?

It is a question worth asking with 10 days to go before Opening Day, particularly when it comes to Johan Rojas.

“Right now, I don’t care about the results,” Rojas said late last week. “Of course, if I had good results, it’s great. But right now, I’m focusing on the process of everything. I feel like I’m learning a lot of new stuff. I don’t feel like the player that I was last year. Once I feel it click -- the new things that I’m getting used to -- everything else is going to come with it. The best version of myself is going to follow.”

Rojas is trying to be the Phillies’ everyday center fielder. It is a job they said he must earn, but it is one they want him to win. But Rojas is batting only .171 (7-for-41) with one double, two triples, four RBIs and a .483 OPS in 42 Grapefruit League plate appearances. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Monday’s 4-3 split-squad loss to the Yankees in Tampa.

“We haven’t made any decisions, but he is improving,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Monday. “We’re going to talk here in the next couple days as a group and try to figure out what’s best for him, and then we’ll go from there.”

Rojas is striking out at a lower rate this spring (19 percent) than last season (25.6 percent), keeping in mind it is a small sample size. He is chasing fewer pitches out of the zone (32.6 percent) than last season (40.4 percent), based on tracked pitches entering Monday. The Phillies have said repeatedly they are looking at Rojas’ adjustments, approach and quality of at-bats this spring, more than the numbers.

“It’s getting there, but it’s not all the way there,” Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long said recently. “I keep telling these guys, 'This is the hardest 15 percent you’ll have.' There are so many good things that he’s doing. It’s just the last part that is probably the hardest, and that’s getting him to do something that’s been unnatural for him.”

Rojas traditionally has started his swing with his hands, rather than his lower body as he should. He had a long stride. His head moved a lot. The more the body and head move, the more difficult it is to hit. But Rojas has reduced his stride. Long said Rojas’ head is moving nearly a foot less.

Now Rojas just needs to synch up his lower body, so that it begins his swing.

“We’re really starting from the ground up, but his base is good now,” Long said. “He’s moving in the right direction. I’d give him a ‘B’ right now in where he’s at. I’d give him an ‘A’ in how he’s gone about it. He’s really doing things properly and how we want it. It’s just not there in the game.”

But the Phillies don’t need Rojas to be an above average or even average hitter to be valuable to the team. He might be the Phillies’ best defensive outfielder in more than a generation. His value is his defense.

Remember, he will hit ninth for the Phillies. No. 9 hitters in MLB the past two years have hit a combined .228 with a .292 on-base percentage, a .357 slugging percentage and a .649 OPS, which is 71 points lower than the OPS of the average hitter. Before the National League adopted a full-time in DH in 2022, the No. 8 hitter was the last true hitter in an NL lineup. The Phillies’ No. 8 hitters in their 1980 and 2008 World Series championship seasons had a .687 OPS and .688 OPS, respectively.

Teams can win with below-average offensive production in the nine hole, especially when that player is an elite defender.

These Phillies should be no different.

But if the Phillies determine Rojas isn’t ready for the big leagues, he will start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If it happens, it could mean Brandon Marsh moves from left to center and Whit Merrifield sees more playing time in left. Cristian Pache could play center field, too.

“I couldn’t care less about the results,” Long said “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about the process and his swing. I give him a lot of credit. I tell him, 'Don’t beat yourself up.' He understands the final 15 percent. He said, 'I know what you mean now.'”