Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas will has withdrawn from participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic with Team Venezuela to prepare for the every day shortstop role after Gavin Lux's injury, according to Bill Plunkett of Orange County Register.
There are implications for both the Dodgers and Team Venezuela as a result. It is understandable that Miguel Rojas would want to stay with his team and prepare for a big role that was suddenly sprung on him due to Gavin Lux's torn ACL.
Let's get into what this means for the Dodgers and Team Venezuela.
What does this mean for the Dodgers?
Rojas is a veteran, and he has a lot of experience playing shortstop during his time with the Miami Marlins. He played shortstop in each season in the big leagues, and he posted his best defensive season in 2022 with the Marlins. Rojas posted 15 defensive runs saved with 10 outs above average. He was a gold glove finalist for shortstop in the National League, losing out to Dansby Swanson.
Gavin Lux had big expectations for a long time, and he was finally going to be a full-time shortstop in 2023. How he will miss the season, and Rojas will not bring the same ceiling offensively, but he should be a sure-handed defender with Lux out.
What does this mean for Team Venezuela?
Rojas did say he could join Team Venezuela later in the tournament, but now his focus is on the Dodgers, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com.
Rojas was the one pure shortstop on the roaster, but the good news for Team Venezuela is there are multiple players who have history of playing shortstop on the roster. They will have to make it work with guys like Eduardo Escobar and Andres Giminez. Eduardo Escobar has a lot of history at shortstop, but did not get any time there in 2022, which makes sense when Francisco Lindor is your teammate. Andres Giminez has played 634.1 innings at shortstop over the last three seasons, so he could theoretically fill in as well.
For the World Baseball Classic, Team Venezuela will have to piece things together.
Follow Us
Subscribe