Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Phillies

Johan Rojas Should Just Let His Game Do the Talking After Dodgers Sweep

Anthony SanFilippo

By Anthony SanFilippo

Published:

Jul 11, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas (18) and outfielder Nick Castellanos (8) run off the field together after a victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Back in March, following a Phillies spring training game, the media was gathered in Rob Thomson’s office. Johan Rojas was a hot button story for us then. Would he make the team? Had he done enough in the offseason to correct the flaws in his swing to stick at the major league level?

Thomson was talking about the most important thing for Rojas was to not get under water. In other words, don’t let struggles at the plate consume him to the point where it negatively impacts his game.

If we’re being honest, at the time, Rojas looked completely out of whack at the plate. His lower half of his body wasn’t in sync with his upper half. He was chasing everything. He wasn’t working deep counts.

So, as a follow up, I asked Thomson if Rojas’ struggles could possibly come from a lack of confidence because he was putting so much pressure on himself to prove he can be an everyday centerfielder.

Thomson’s first reaction to my question was to chuckle. For a moment, I didn’t understand his reaction, but then he added a quick response, “Confidence is never lacking with him,” Thomson said. “He might be too confident.”

Suddenly it made sense. Rojas, a 23-year-old defensive wizard in centerfield whose hit tool remains below the bar, believes in himself, and maybe sometimes to a fault.

But it’s always easier to teach humility than it is to teach confidence, so the Phillies are fine with him having a little more brassiness to his approach. It’s much better than timidity.

Fast forward four months and Rojas has had a strange season. He won the starting job in the spring, got off to an underwhelming start – including some shoddy play in center, where last season he proved to be one of the elite defenders in the sport – was moved to more of a rotational role and ultimately, sent down to the minors to try and fix a swing that just never improved, even if he was able to keep his batting average above expectation by using his speed to leg out weakly-hit ground balls.

But Rojas had to return sooner than the Phillies expected when, a couple weeks ago, both Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit the 10-day I.L. with muscle strains. Since returning, Rojas has been a regular. He’s had a few hits – including an RBI single with the infield drawn in in Wednesday’s 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers that completed a sweep of the team with the second-best record in the National League behind the Phillies.

No one wanted to talk to Rojas about that hit specifically, after the game. Instead, they wanted to talk about this catch against Kike Hernandez in the seventh inning.

It was a very good catch. He had a long way to run – about 100 feet – had to reach up to catch it and then hold on as his momentum forced him to bounce off the outfield wall not once, but twice, thanks to the angle in the left center field wall.

“I had a front row seat for it,” said Brandon Marsh. “I knew I wasn’t getting there so I just looked at him and started screaming, ‘Go, go, go.’ That’s just Ro being Ro. He goes and gets it with the best of them out there. I feel like we expect him to make those plays because he keeps doing it. I love defense like that, man. I take pride in defense myself, 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. I get amped up by it for sure.”

It had eerie similarities to the catch he made in the NLDS last season against Ronald Acuna, Jr., which started bringing up questions comparing the two.


They looked similar. Same place on the field. Heck, the Phillies were wearing the powder blues for throwback Thursday in both instances, which helped with the comparison.

But let’s be honest, the catch in the NLDS was more impressive. Bigger stage. Bigger moment. Tougher grab.

According to Stat Cast, the ball Hernandez hit had an expected batting average of .270. It had a catch percentage of 50%. It proves it was a nice play by Rojas, but it might be a little hyperbolic to say anything more than that.

Except Rojas did.

And this may be me burying the lede here, but this is why I started with the Thomson quote from March about Rojas and confidence.

When asked about the catch after the game, Rojas was, well… confident.

“I’ve always said, every hitter who hits the ball toward me, if he wants it to be a hit, he’s going to have to hit it out,” Rojas said through an interpreter. “The ball they hit, the ball I catch. If it’s not out, it’s in my glove.”

I like this swagger. It’s rare that Phillies players put that kind of bravado out into the world publicly. They prefer to shove with actions, not with words. That’s part of the culture in this clubhouse. Part of the immaculate vibes of the club is their approach where it’s never “look at me.” Heap high praise on your teammates all you want. But it’s never about the individual self. So, this was a bit of a stray from the norm.

And although the general reaction from the fans on social media – which, of course, is always the best place to look for how people really feel – has been positive, I got to think it wasn’t a quote that many with the Phillies thought was ideal.

That’s whatever. We all say things sometimes with a little more vim and vigor than we should. He’s a young player who made a nice play and was excited about it. It was obvious on the field when, after the catch, he lifted his cap up on his head enough to show off his personalized headband. And when he applauded the sellout crowd back after they gave him a roaring ovation for the catch.

If he wants to celebrate that play, let him. He wants to say he’s going to catch everything ever hit at him, go nuts. Never mind his plus-1 Defensive Runs Saved rating (per Baseball Info Solutions) which is down from plus-15 a season ago. Nor his minus-8 Total Zone Total Runs Above Average rating (per BaseballProjection.com) down from plus-13 in 2023. Make a play that helps to secure a win for the team, you deserve to be a little excited.

It was the next quote, when asked about the importance of sweeping the Dodgers, that set off the alarm bells for me, and I’m sure the Phillies as well.

We don’t care who’s coming. We don’t care who we’re playing. We’re just going to beat them. Anyone can come here and they’re going to end up losing the games or the series. Same with the goal we have for the World Series – we’ll go out and win it. We’re hungry to win. That’s what we’re here for an that’s what we’re going to do.

I posted the angle shot above so you can see my reaction to the comment in the moment. Because having a little extra showmanship about an individual moment in a game is harmless, but being so bold as to say teams are going to lose when they come to the Bank… that’s probably a bit of a gasconade grenade.

This might be the way the Phillies feel on a series-by-series basis. Internally, they may believe that they are better than everyone else and their expectation is they’re going to win every game. That’s great.

But do the Phillies want that message being delivered publicly? And if they do, do they want Rojas to be the messenger?

Probably not.

No… wait… definitely not.

This would never happen, but if Bryce Harper comes out and says, “we’re going to annihilate every team that comes into Citizens Bank Park, so they shouldn’t even show up,” it would be spicy and newsworthy, and a gauntlet would be thrown down, for sure.

At least that would be coming from the face of the franchise. From a two-time MVP who has the track record to back up any bravado he would choose to put on display.

But a 23-year-old, bottom of the lineup centerfielder who has been back and forth to the minors this season? No. He can’t be the one saying it – even if he and his teammates believe it with every fiber of their being.

In the end. it’s just a quote in the middle of the summer in the middle of a long season. By the weekend, it will be out of sight, and out of mind.

It’s out there in the world now. Someone, at some point, will remember it. You can be sure of that. The next time Rojas misses a fly ball, or the next time he can’t get a bunt down and the Phillies lose a tight game, you can rest assured there will be people out there with their claws sharpened ready to remind us all of what he said Thursday.

That’s the nature of things in society in 2024. Which is why the Phillies, like most pro sports teams, like to keep a unified message from within.

There’s a Phillies way of doing things. It’s part of what makes them such a successful franchise these days.

For one night, after a great win and an impressive sweep of the next-best team in the league, the Phillies way briefly diverted its path.

Rest assured, it will be put back on course. In fact, I’m betting it already has.

Anthony SanFilippo
Anthony SanFilippo

Anthony SanFilippo writes about the Phillies and Flyers for Crossing Broad and hosts a pair of related podcasts (Crossed Up and Snow the Goalie). A part of the Philadelphia sports media for a quarter century, Anthony also dabbles in acting, directing, teaching, and strategic marketing, which is why he has no time to do anything, but does it anyway. Follow him on Twitter @AntSanPhilly.

Advertise With Us