The White Sox are in agreement with infielder Josh Rojas on a one-year deal, according to a report from Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The financial terms of the deal are not yet known.
Rojas, 31 in June, was non-tendered by the Mariners back in November. It was an outcome few would have expected early in the 2024 season. Rojas had been a key piece of the trade that sent closer Paul Sewald to Arizona at the 2023 trade deadline and had hit a respectable .272/.321/.400 (105 wRC+) down the stretch with the Mariners. He followed that up with a torrid start to the 2024 campaign as well, hitting .318/.408/.530 (175 wRC+) through the end of April. Unfortunately for Rojas, the wheels came off completely from there. The rest of the way, Rojas hit a paltry .208/.285/.301 (75 wRC+), including a brutal .184/.265/.272 (62 wRC+) slash line over the season’s final two months while the Mariners slipped out of the playoff picture.
That tough offensive season was enough for the Mariners to decide against tendering him a contract for the 2025 season MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected would’ve earned Rojas $4.3MM. Even so, a weak free agent market for infielders made Rojas immediately one of the more intriguing lower-level free agent options available on this winter’s market. While Rojas has generally been an average to slightly below-average hitter in the majors since becoming a full-time player in Arizona back in 2021, he’s an versatile fielder who has posted excellent defensive numbers in each of the past two seasons. Since the start of the 2023 campaign, Rojas has +8 Outs Above Average at second base and +6 OAA at third base. Defensive Runs Saved is slightly less bullish on Rojas but still rates him as an above average fielder overall, with +2 DRS at second and +5 at third over the last two years. Rojas also has experience at shortstop and in the outfield corners at the big league level, though without the same impressive metrics backing his performance up.
That positional versatility, plus defense, and history as a league-average hitter was enough to make Rojas a sought after role player for a handful of teams this winter, including the Cubs. While the north side’s reportedly “serious” interest in Rojas likely involved him taking a part-time role backing up Nico Hoerner and top prospect Matt Shaw at second and third base, he should have a clearer path to regular reps on the south side of town. The club currently projects to utilize some combination of Miguel Vargas, Lenyn Sosa, Jacob Amaya, and Brooks Baldwin between shortstop, second base, and third base in 2025. While Vargas seems ticketed for everyday starts as a recent top-100 prospect who was the centerpiece of the return Chicago received for Michael Kopech, Tommy Pham, and Erick Fedde last summer, Rojas should be able to capture regular reps at whichever of second or third base Vargas doesn’t end up playing.
That should be particularly true against right-handed pitching, as Rojas sports a significant platoon split and hit just .133/.224/.133 against southpaws last year. It’s possible the White Sox will afford him the opportunity to prove he can hit lefties while in the thick of a rebuild, though perhaps they’ll simply platoon him with a right-handed infielder like Sosa in order to maximize his numbers ahead of what’s sure to be another fire sale at the trade deadline this year. For the White Sox, the addition of Rojas provides some stability to an infield mix that was in desperate need of attention this winter and a potential midseason trade chip. Meanwhile, Rojas will have the opportunity to be a regular with the club and could play his way into a role with a contender down the stretch.
With Rojas off the market, a handful of interesting infielders remain available in free agency for teams in need of help on the dirt. Whit Merrifield, Donovan Solano, and Cavan Biggio are among the players available who could provide versatility in a part-time or bench role, while Jorge Polanco, Paul DeJong, and Jose Iglesias are among a handful of potential regulars available in the lower tiers of free agency. One other wild card on the infield market is Hyeseong Kim, who was posted by the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes last month and is available for MLB clubs to sign until tomorrow afternoon.
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