LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers clubhouse after they lost Game 4 of the National League Championship Series was closed for quite some time before opening to media. Once the clubhouse opened, some players were getting dressed or already dressed, winding down after the end of their season. Infielder Miguel Rojas was still at his locker in full uniform, as Thursday was his last game after 13 major league seasons.
“This is it. I’m going to move on and go to the next step of my life in the baseball world. Today was the last time I wore the uniform as a player and my cleats, it’s really hard to take them off right now,” Rojas said, still wearing the cleats. “It’s been a lot, the last four years of my life here, and obviously making my debut in 2014 changed my life, and not just for me, but for my whole family. They took care of my son, my daughter, my wife, and everybody in my family. It’s really amazing when I think about what happened to me and my family the last few years.”
Rojas reached base in each of his final two major league plate appearances, with a single and walk in Game 3 of the NLCS on Wednesday. This postseason all seven of his plate appearances came against left-handed pitching, and he had a double to go with that single and walk. Rojas this year hit .293/.340/.469 with a 121 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. He played two innings at second base in Game 4 but did not bat.
Rojas originally signed at age 16 as an international amateur free agent with the Cincinnati Reds in 2005, and played in the Reds system before signing with the Dodgers as a minor league free agent in November 2012. He debuted with the Dodgers in 2014, and made the key defensive play at third base to preserve Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter that year.
Traded to the Marlins at the 2014 winter meetings, Rojas in Miami found his way as a regular player for most of his eight seasons there.
The Dodgers traded for Rojas in January 2023, and he thrived over his last four seasons in a variety of roles. He filled in at shortstop when needed, also played all over the infield, and did whatever was asked, including helping Miguel Vargas try to learn a new position at second base, then helped Mookie Betts transition from the outfield to shortstop as a veteran.
“They allowed me to be the leader I want to be, the person that I wanted to change the culture, give a little bit more of the culture, the feel in the clubhouse. I feel that is going to be a legacy,” Rojas said Thursday. “I want them to remember me as a guy who always did everything possible to help my teammates win, and help my team get better every single day.”
Rojas hit the game-tying home run in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, which is forever etched in Dodgers lore. But he also was voted by his teammates as the club’s Roy Campanella Award for his leadership and spirt in each of the last three seasons.
“Nobody when I came to this organization asked me, ‘Hey we want you to be a leader’ or ‘We want you to be a mentor.’ It’s just who I want to be and who I want to be for the future,” Rojas told True Blue LA in 2024. “After my career is over, I’m trying to stay on the field, to stay coaching, and I want to be a part of an organization that wants to win.”
Rojas last December signed a $5.5 million contract to return to the Dodgers with the expectation that he would then transition after this season into the Dodgers front office, likely with an emphasis on player development. What that role is has yet to be determined.
“I talked to the guys, it was really emotional after the game. I told them that I’m going to be loyal, I want to stay here. I want to wear this uniform or this logo in a different capacity and continue to make the organization better,” Rojas said. “But this is it, this is it as a player.”
“I think what we created is something bigger than winning or losing the last game of the year,” the 37-year-old added. “It’s a culture, it’s a winning mentality, a team that the people of Los Angeles and every part of the world can be proud of.”