'They should be' talking Gold Glove for Rojas

WASHINGTON -- Miguel Rojas was completely turned around by the time the baseball plunged into the webbing of his glove, the Marlins shortstop face-down on the infield dirt, essentially parallel with the foul line.

Rojas’ body angled like a spray chart line, it was almost as if he’d pulled Joey Meneses’ 103 mph one-hopper back from the outfield grass, rather than intercepted it early, somehow from a place behind him.

Then in a flash, Rojas was on his knees, expertly converting Meneses’ would-be hit into a nifty, 6-4-3 double play. Fittingly, Rojas’ defensive prowess was a highlight of Miami’s 5-4 loss to the Nationals on Friday night at Nationals Park, when the longtime Marlin made franchise history with his glove.

“It’s hard to find somebody that’s a better defensive shortstop than Miguel,” manager Don Mattingly said. “I’m not sure where he is in the Gold Glove [discussion], but if they’re not talking about him, they should be.”

So let’s talk about it. The Marlins have never had a Gold Glove winner at shortstop in their 30-year history, and that’s not guaranteed to change this year, with stars like Dansby Swanson, Francisco Lindor and others in the National League enjoying excellent defensive seasons at the position. Regardless, what Rojas is doing is remarkable in its own right.

Always a fine fielder, Rojas is augmenting a down year offensively with an airtight campaign using the leather. He’s committed only six errors in 487 chances across 1,023 2/3 innings at short, good for an MLB-best .988 fielding percentage. Friday’s defeat marked his 55th consecutive errorless game at shortstop, breaking Hanley Ramirez’s single-season club record for the position.

“He’s been making great plays behind me all year,” said lefty Jesús Luzardo, who logged six innings of two-run ball before the Nats rallied against Miami’s ‘pen. “I could tip my cap, but that’s not enough. He just keeps doing it for me.”

If advanced metrics are your thing, Rojas sports those, too. His nine Outs Above Average (entering the series opener) easily tops the Marlins, and ranks 96th percentile among MLB fielders. Among full-time NL shortstops, only Swanson, Lindor, Nico Hoerner and Willy Adames have more.

“His defense has been really good,” Mattingly said. “He scuffled a little bit early, but after that he's been really good. He was hurt last year and played through it, and his defense suffered late in the year last year. This year, he's been incredible.”

Even more impressive might be when Rojas is doing it. The nine-year veteran has played this entire season as a 33-year-old, hardly the age most infielders reach their peak defensively. He isn’t particularly fast (29th percentile sprint speed). Rojas is actually somewhat slothful for a shortstop (14 percentile) in terms of foot-speed.

But his quickness, hands and instincts remain elite, largely bridging that gap. And he is healthy. After missing time to injuries each of the past three seasons, Rojas is on pace to play in his most games since 2018, when he set a career high with 15 OAA spread across three positions (nine at shortstop).

“This year has been special,” Rojas said. “It’s been the most solid year in my career overall. Not just making great plays, but making every one of the routine plays – that’s one of the things I take pride in.”

Rojas credits a modified training routine he’s been able to take into the season (“All I need is a ball and my two gloves – one flat glove that looks like a pancake, and my little glove,” he said. “I can do it inside or outside, in five to seven minutes.”) and a tweak in technique that’s helped him with in-between hops.

“I was always a guy that funneled the ball,” Rojas said. “In the last couple years, I caught myself in situations with in-between bounces that I could’ve pushed (my hands) through. I modified my routine to do some push-through, and some funneling. I think that’s been the difference in being so consistent.”

That consistency has been a big part of a Marlins team that’s gone from MLB’s sixth-worst defensive team in 2021 to its fourth best, per Statcast. That improvement happened entirely on the infield (Miami’s outfield defense ranks seventh worst in MLB with -12 OAA), which jives well for a pitching staff with the NL’s third-highest ground-ball rate.

The Marlins’ 63 team errors are tied for the fourth fewest in baseball and have them within shouting distance of the franchise record of 73 set in 2017. Miami led the Majors in errors last season.

“Miggy is the quarterback out there,” Mattingly said. “He's really good about the game situations that are going on. He's like a coach on the field. As far as the guys getting too much lead, or different things he’s seeing, even seeing things with our pitchers, the way they’re going about it.”