Marlins’ Rojas to make rehab start for Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Miami Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas will begin an injury rehabilitation assignment for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at 6:35 p.m. Sunday night in the series finale against the Norfolk Tides at 121 Financial Ballpark.

Rojas was placed on the injured list on May 28 after dislocating his left index finger sliding back into first base on a pickoff attempt against the Philadelphia Phillies the night before.

Prior to the injury, Rojas was slashing .275/.354/.433 with 19 extra-base hits through 47 games. Defensively, Rojas boasts the second-best fielding percentage among shortstops in the league this season, committing only one error in his 47 games, for a fielding percentage of .993.

The 32-year-old was originally signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 2005 as an non-drafted free agent. He then spent the next seven years in the Reds farm system before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in 2012. Rojas made his MLB debut with the Dodgers on June 6, 2014 against the Colorado Rockies. Rojas’s first hit came two days later against Colorado, when he slapped an RBI single to center field to give Los Angeles a 5-1 lead.

At the end of the 2014 season, the Dodgers traded Rojas to the Marlins along with Dee Strange-Gordon and Dan Haren, in exchange for Andrew Heaney, Chris Hatcher, Austin Barnes, and Enrique "Kiké" Hernández. He spent 2015 bouncing between Miami and their Triple-A affiliate at the time, the New Orleans Baby Cakes. Rojas became the primary shortstop for the Marlins in 2016 and has since played in 585 Major League games in the last six seasons.

On September 20, 2019, the Marlins signed Rojas to a two-year contract extension through 2021, which includes a vesting option for 2022. It marked the first multi-year contract handed out by the Marlins new ownership group. Rojas followed up the extension with the best season of his career in an abbreviated 2020, slashing .304/.392/.496 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 40 games played.

Rojas did play two games for the Jumbo Shrimp during 2017 while rehabbing from a right thumb fracture. He joins infielder Jazz Chisholm, catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielder Starling Marté, pitcher Elieser Hernández, outfielder Lewis Brinson, and pitcher Jordan Holloway to rehab with the Shrimp in 2021.

*ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: *The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offer affordable family fun at 121 Financial Ballpark. Their inaugural season garnered the Southern League’s Don Mincher Organization of the Year, Promotional Trophy and Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year, won by general manager Harold Craw. The club added its second Promotional Trophy in three years following the 2019 season. The 2021 season marks the return of Triple-A baseball in Jacksonville. To experience the excitement with the terrific value of ticket and group options, call the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visit www.jaxshrimp.com.