Whether it’s an inability to consistently get bunts down or struggles getting good secondary leads, there have been some frustrating moments for Johan Rojas this season. The Philadelphia Phillies said as much when they demoted Rojas to Triple-A Lehigh Valley back in mid-June.
But for all their frustrations, manager Rob Thomson said at the time of Rojas’ demotion that the organization still believed the best version of their team included Rojas. And while there hasn’t been a drastic offensive improvement since Rojas was recalled on June 28 — he’s 8-for-35 (.229) — he offered a reminder Thursday evening of why the Phillies seem so desperate for him to do just enough offensively to be passable.
In the bottom of the seventh inning of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kiké Hernández hit a ball into left-center field off of Matt Strahm that seemed destined to be a double, if not a triple. Instead, Rojas made an incredible catch, earning a standing ovation from the crowd at Citizens Bank Park:
After the game, Rojas didn’t mince words when describing his level of confidence in the outfield.
“Every hitter that hits the ball towards me, if he wants it to be a hit, he’s gonna have to hit it out,” Rojas said postgame via interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “Ball that’s hit, ball I catch. If it’s not out, it’s in my glove.”
Left fielder Brandon Marsh was blown away by the catch.
“Man, it was, I think I had the best seat in the house,” Marsh said. “I knew I wasn’t getting there. So I just look straight to him and I just started screaming ‘Go, go go!’. But that’s just Ro being Ro. I mean, he goes and gets ’em with the best of them out there. And so, I feel like we expect him to make those plays now because he just keeps doing it. But yeah, he’s incredible out there.”
Not only did Marsh celebrate with Rojas immediately after the catch, but he made a beeline for him at the end of the inning as they were trotting off the field to dap up his teammate once again.
“I love defense like that, man,” Marsh said. “I take a lot of pride in defense myself. And so when I see my teammates, especially my partner Ro do something crazy like that, something special to help us win a game, I love it. So I get amped up for sure.”
Rojas’ catch Thursday was eerily similar to the one against Ronald Acúna Jr. and the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the NLCS a year ago, all the way down to the Thursday powder blues:
Rojas went 1-for-4 offensively, including popping up a bunt attempt in the bottom of the eighth inning in the 5-1 win Thursday. Serious questions remain about him offensively, although he did drive in Brandon Marsh with an opposite-field single in the bottom of the sixth.
“He’s electric, he can do a lot of different things,” Thomson said after the game. “He gets a big base hit with the infield in, makes that play, can steal a base … he just, he puts pressure on the other team.”
If the Phillies aren’t going to acquire a star center fielder like Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox before the July 30 trade deadline, maybe their best solution is to acquire a right-handed power bat to start games in left field, like Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics. Rooker would give the Phillies more thump for the first six or so innings of every game, with Brandon Marsh getting most of the starts in center field. Late in games, Rooker — who has -8 defensive runs saved — would come out, with Marsh shifting to left field and Rojas coming in as the center fielder.
It would be a way to keep Rojas’ glove in the picture for high-leverage moments, without having to give him as many at-bats as the 43 he got in the postseason a year ago. Rojas’ best role might be be as a late-game replacement — either as a pinch runner or defender — that has the chance to alter the season with his speed.
Thursday’s win was certainly a reminder of why even though there are questions about just how much Rojas should be playing given some of his offensive limitations, the Phillies rightfully remained very intrigued by the 23-year-old’s potential to help them win a title.
