Cubs Reportedly ‘Showing Serious Interest’ in Versatile IF Josh Rojas
The Cubs have been working around the margins with depth acquisitions, selecting Gage Workman from the Tigers in the Rule 5 Draft and picking up Vidal Bruján from the Marlins in exchange for Matt Mervis. But while both players could challenge Matt Shaw for third base during spring training and/or provide organizational depth during the season, neither appears to be much more than a stopgap at best. Josh Rojas, however, could be exactly the versatile bench player the Cubs need as a viable starter or insurance policy at multiple positions.
That’s why the Cubs are “among the teams showing serious interest” in Rojas, per Mark Feinsand.
The Cubs are among the teams showing serious interest in INF Josh Rojas, per source. Rojas had a 2.2 bWAR in 142 games for the Mariners last season, starting 106 games at 3B. He has started mostly at 2B and 3B during his career, but can also play SS and both corner OF spots.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 30, 2024
A 26th-round draft pick by the Astros in 2017, Rojas earned a mere $1,000 signing bonus because he had no leverage as a college senior. Perhaps he would have benefited from the recent injunction ruling that juco experience doesn’t count against NCAA eligibility, but that’s still got a ways to go and we can’t go back in time anyway. Rojas went to his hometown Diamondbacks at the deadline in 2019 as part of the return for Zack Greinke and debuted as an outfielder less than two weeks later.
Arizona sent Rojas and two others to Seattle for Paul Sewald at the 2023 deadline and he finished the season as the Mariners’ second baseman. He slid to third when Eugenio Suárez was traded to Arizona, but also played a little second and left. A lefty batter, Rojas really struggled against southpaws and was often platooned against them this past season.
Despite the .225 batting average and a lack of power, he still managed to put up 1.9 fWAR and has accumulated 7.2 total fWAR over his four full seasons. His ability to competently play three infield positions is a big check mark for him and being a left-handed hitter is a nice complement to currently having all righties at those positions. He’s probably not going to be pursued by anyone as an everyday player and the Cubs don’t need a regular, especially not one who lacks pop, but it’s as good a fit as you’re going to find for the role.
Think of this like Miles Mastrobuoni, just elevated several levels. Though his sample size is much smaller, Mastrobuoni has flashed absolutely no power and doesn’t have nearly enough on-base skills to offset a low batting average. Out of 539 players with at least 250 plate appearances over the last three seasons, only Tyler Wade (.042) and Michael Stefanic (.043) have a lower ISO than Mastrobuoni’s .045 mark. Rojas looks like a slugger with .110 in that same time, just slightly ahead of Nico Hoerner.
Again, this is not a dude you would want playing every day at a position that really needs to produce power, especially when you’re not getting much from at least one other infield spot. But if the Cubs believe in Shaw as much as I think they do, a guy like Rojas raises the bench’s floor a great deal.