March 13, 2024
Kim Klement Neitzel/USA Today Sports
Johan Rojas singles during a spring training game against the Braves.
The pitchers on the Phillies' roster are rooting as hard as anyone for the 23-year old Johan Rojas to make the 26-man roster out of spring training.
After all, he has some of the best speed, range and eyes of any outfielder in major league baseball and he's just getting started.
Last season, in just 57 games and 392 innings in centerfield, Rojas saved 15 runs (via The Fielding Bible). For some context, the leader for the entire season in that category was the Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho, who had 29 defensive runs saved in 1,280 innings – three times as many innings as Rojas. Those 15 runs saved for Rojas are the 15th most out of hundreds of MLB outfielders, most of whom played substantially more than he did.
Phillies hurlers want him behind them in center. The problem is his bat.
After a hot start to his big league career that saw him hit .302 to end the 2023 regular season, he hit a buzzsaw in the postseason, hitting .093. He had just four hits in 43 at-bats with 15 of them resulting in strikeouts.
He hasn't been much better this spring. In nine games so far, he's hitting .161, has yet to draw a walk and has more strikeouts than hits again (seven to five).
He's young. He's figuring it out. But there are some factors that could lead to his demotion. And it might be what's best for the team.
With Brandon Marsh returning to the lineup in left on Wednesday, eyeballing full strength for Opening Day after minor offseason surgery, and with the recently signed Whit Merrifield guaranteed to be on the big league roster, there are only two spots available for Rojas, Jake Cave and Cristian Pache.
A look at how the trio is faring so far in Clearwater:
| Player | Slash | MiLB opt |
| Johan Rojas | .161/.161/.258 | 2 |
| Cristian Pache | .294/.333/.647 | 0 |
| Jake Cave | .294/.294/.353 | 0 |
There isn't much power to speak of, but the options are a big deal. The Phillies would risk — and probably would lose — whichever of Pache or Cave once they'd be exposed to waivers. Cave, a lefty, is one of the few players besides Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm who can play first base on the roster, so he has some versatility. Pache has speed, a little pop, and he's also just 25.
A fourth candidate is also in the mix, 2019 All-Star outfielder David Dahl. He has two homers, is hitting .238 and also has no options. He'll need to really impress down the stretch to make a realistic case to make the roster.
If Marsh is healthy and can start in center, the wisest course might be to let Rojas get regular at-bats in Triple-A while the Phillies roll with an outfield like this:
RF: Nick Castellanos
CF: Brandon Marsh
LF: Whit Merrifield
Bench Jake Cave/Cristian Pache
If one of the outfielders above gets hurt, or struggles, or if the Phillies need Merrifield to play more in the infield, they'll have Rojas ready to call up.
The outfield conundrum is one of the few tough decisions left to make for Rob Thomson and the rest of the Phillies' coaching staff (and front office) for a team that is mostly otherwise set in stone at this point.
Keeping Rojas, letting him figure it out, and taking his excellent defense is on one hand. Not losing a big league outfielder to waivers, having better offense, and taking pressure off Rojas to let him develop in the minors is on the other.
With two weeks left before the Phils break camp and head north, a lot could still happen. But the pressure is on, for all three of the outfielders fighting for a spot, and for those responsible for deciding as well.
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