The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ injury bug has finally hit their position players.
Veteran infielder Miguel Rojas jammed his ring finger while sliding head first into second base in LA’s series-clinching 5-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Rojas and the Dodgers believe he avoided a potentially worse prognosis. But the 12th-year infielder, who has played 49 games while primarily splitting second base with Hyeseong Kim this season, is still awaiting the results of X-rays to confirm the severity of his injury.
Still, if Rojas has to go on the injured list, he will be the 12th LA player on the IL but the only position player.
How Did Miguel Rojas Get Injured?
Rojas was in the midst of a huge day at the plate, when he injured his ring finger while trying to get to second after singling home Max Muncy in the top of the seventh inning. He was nailed at second trying to take the base on the throw home then exited the game.
“It’s kind of sore,” Rojas said after the game. “[I] got tagged, but didn’t know if I jammed it with the bag or if it was the tag. But it was on my finger, so it’s pretty sore.”
Rojas reportedly thought he had dislocated his finger, as did Dodgers TV analyst Eric Karros, but that was not the case. The injury reminded him of a similar play in 2021, when with the Miami Marlins he fractured his right index finger sliding back into first base and cost him 18 games.
“I had the same play, and I dislocated it and had a fracture in the other finger, so I was thinking about that. I’m glad it wasn’t dislocated. It was just a really bad jam, and I think I escaped a bad situation there.”
Rojas told Sportsnet LA he exited the game for precautionary reasons but was still slated to have X-rays on his finger Monday.
“It was swelling up on me after that inning,” Rojas said, “and [I] felt like I should be smart and take care of it and put some ice on it and try to calm the inflammation and maybe not take another at-bat and make it worse. That’s why I came out of the game.”
Rojas went 2 for 2 with a walk and an RBI. He is slashing .250/.289/.380 in 49 games but is 8 for his last 16 with two homers, for RBIs and a 1.556 OPS in his past 10 games played.
Who Will Play Second Base For The Dodgers?
Rojas has not been playing every day for Los Angeles, and the Dodgers had an off day Monday. So it’s entirely plausible he will not miss any time due to the injury.
But if Rojas does need to go on the IL, Kim and Tommy Edman are likely to get the lion’s share of reps at second base. Edman is a switch hitter, and he also routinely plays the outfield, so manager Dave Roberts is likely to stick with his rotation of Edman and Kim if Rojas’ injury causes him to miss time.
If a roster spot opens up due to Rojas’ injury, expect outfielder James Outman to get the call up from Oklahoma City. Despite struggling with a .125 major-league average, Outman has been tearing up the Pacific Coast League by slashing .283/.368/.589 with 19 home runs and a team-high 66 RBIs in just 65 games.
Dodgers Waiting for News on Injured Infielder’s X-Rays