Miguel Rojas: Offseason trade chip

The Miami Marlins management and front office will undoubtedly become busy once the winter meetings arrive. With an abundance of veteran players on the current roster likely to draw interest from other teams, could underrated utility man Miguel Rojas be involved in a potential trade?

Acquired along with Dee Gordon from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster trade years ago, Rojas has certainly carved out an adequate career in a Marlins uniform.

In Year 4 with this organization, he has established career-high marks in multiple offensive categories. Entering Monday with 417 at-bats, “Miggy” owns a respectable slash line of .255/.300/.351 (.652 OPS) on the season. However, there’s been a surprising amount of power production from him—10 home runs and 48 runs batted in after only 4 HR and 66 RBI in total from 2014-2017.

Rojas has demonstrated plenty of versatility during the 2018 season. He’s committed a grand total of four errors in 44 games at 1B, 7 games at 2B, 36 games at 3B, and 73 games at SS. His 16 Defensive Runs Saved rank first on the Marlins.

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General manager Mike Hill should strongly consider dealing Rojas during the MLB offseason. Even in a part-time role, his well-rounded skillset is valuable enough to convince a trade partner to send back talented prospects who could contribute to an eventual contender in Miami.

With the Marlins entering a rebuilding phase, they shouldn’t preserve older players who may be nearing a decline. Rojas turns 30 next February. Also, the Marlins already possess infielders of higher upside and talent compared with Rojas, such as Isan Diaz, JT Riddle, Starlin Castro, and Brian Anderson. Evidently, there isn’t room for him to see as much action moving forward.

Although Miami could certainly retain the inexpensive services of their clubhouse spark plug via arbitration, I wouldn’t suggest it. Hill has a responsibility to look out for the future of the club, and that means getting the most he can in exchange for this asset.