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SEATTLE -- Much has justifiably been made of Josh Rojas¡¯ emergence at the plate, especially in the leadoff role while J.P. Crawford is sidelined. Yet, what he¡¯s done with his bat shouldn¡¯t overshadow the progress that he¡¯s made with his glove.

That¡¯s especially true considering the question marks that he had after struggling at the hot corner with Arizona and that the Mariners had at the position after trading defensive standout Eugenio Su¨¢rez last offseason.

¡°He had stood over there before, but there were a lot of things he had to learn and work on,¡± Mariners infield coach Perry Hill said. ¡°And to his credit, he¡¯s gotten it done.¡±

Rojas has made each of his 18 starts at third base, with Luis Ur¨ªas making the other 11, a by-design platoon that the Mariners intend to stick with. Rojas has made two errors -- one on Opening Day when he hit a runner¡¯s helmet on a throw to the plate and another on April 2 when he sailed a throw while attempting to nab speedster Steven Kwan on a short infield chopper.

But Rojas has had a clean slate in the nearly four weeks since.

¡°I think it's consistent footwork,¡± Hill said, ¡°making sure that his body's turned [toward] first base or second base, wherever he's throwing, so he gets the maximum arm strength. ... The ball [from his throws] looks like it's just got carry -- it stays on one plane and keeps going and going.¡±

Overall, Rojas has been worth one Out Above Average, per Statcast, ranking in the 65th percentile among third basemen, and he¡¯s been even in the Defensive Runs Saved metric. Those are two of the most notable numbers quantifying defense, which themselves are better measured in bulk.

But the eye test suggests that Rojas has made significant progress.

¡°The backhand was an issue that we needed to address in Spring Training,¡± Hill said. ¡°And he did. He worked on it, and he's made some really nice backhanded plays so far this year.¡±

Last year with Arizona, Rojas began the season in a platoon with veteran Evan Longoria before eventually moving back to second base, where he played after being traded to Seattle. The September prior, Rojas¡¯ struggles became pronounced enough that D-backs manager Torey Lovullo benched him for three games.

Now, he¡¯s among the first players on the field for infield drills with Hill.

¡°If you can consistently do something the same way, you're going to master it,¡± Hill said. ¡°And you're going to have a plateau. There are not going to be too many ups and downs.¡±

And none of this is accounting for what Rojas has done at the plate, putting together a .308 batting average and a .375 on-base percentage in 65 at-bats. Even when he¡¯s not in the lineup, Rojas is making an impact, having broken up Atlanta¡¯s no-hit bid in the eighth inning on Monday as a pinch-hitter before Mitch Garver walked it off.

Rojas also crushed two homers over the weekend against his former team, both in the first inning. Among American League third basemen with at least 50 plate appearances, he entered the week ranked second in OPS (.882), second in slugging percentage (.516), second in wRC+ (158, where league average is 100) and tied for third in Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs (0.8).

¡°I'm definitely a hitter that I need to be fully bought in on what my plan is at the plate,¡± Rojas said. ¡°It's what makes me good. If I'm not doing well, then I'm probably in the box thinking about mechanics, and that's when it's not going to go well for me.¡±

For a position that appeared to be the Mariners¡¯ most vulnerable entering the year, Rojas has made it steady on the days he plays.