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Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas knows farewell season will get ‘really emotional’ at times

March 27, 2026

LOS ANGELES — It started to sink in for Miguel Rojas during Wednesday’s Freeway Series game at Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came up to Rojas in the dugout during the game and told him he would be starting at second base on Opening Day (despite the Arizona Diamondbacks starting a right-hander, Zac Gallen).

“I was kind of speechless,” said Rojas, who has announced he will retire after this season. “I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if, ‘Thank you’ was the right thing to say because it’s something I earned. It’s not something that I asked for as a favor. So I was just kind of speechless.”

Rojas said he has reflected on his journey, “to the big leagues as a utility defensive replacement who can play shortstop but couldn’t really hit much. Now I can say I finished my career the last four years as an Opening Day starter.” But he has been able to keep it from dominating his thinking.

“I’ve kind of been handling it pretty well,” Rojas said. “Spring training, I got there and I had the mentality of enjoying every day, preparing for a new season. But now, it’s here. This is my last chance to play baseball with an amazing group of guys.”

Standing along the third-base line for Thursday’s pregame ceremonies and then for Friday’s World Series ring ceremony is going to be “really emotional,” Rojas admitted. But he doesn’t know how often it will hit him during the season that this is his last go-round.

“Baseball is what I remember me doing my whole life. I don’t remember myself doing anything else,” he said. “I know I was a good son, a good brother, a good student. I know that. But I don’t remember myself doing that. I remember myself playing baseball, preparing for a baseball game, working out to be a professional baseball player. Then when I was in the minors I remember myself working really hard to get to the big leagues and then working really hard to be an everyday player. It goes on and on.

“I just feel like all I remember is being a baseball player and now my character is going to die at the end of this year. I’m going to enjoy it and I’m going to be happy with the results because I know I did everything I can to give 100 percent effort every day.”

Rojas (who is expected to take on a role in player development with the Dodgers next year) said he has a role model to follow when it comes to enjoying his farewell season.

“My wife and my kids call him Uncle Kersh because of the joy he had throughout the year,” Rojas said of Clayton Kershaw’s final season in 2025. “He was really happy all year. He wasn’t really caught up in numbers or stats. He was just enjoying his time. I really wish I can do a little bit of what he did last year.

“I hope I can enjoy it as much as he did last year. So I’m going to be Uncle Miggy this year.”

FROM SHOHEI

Each Dodgers player found a gift bag in his locker when they arrived at the stadium for Thursday’s opener. Inside was a high-end Seiko watch. Outside was a tag which read, “Happy Opening Day!! Three-Peat!! – Shohei Ohtani.”

“Shohei has been really kind using his platform to help his teammates,” Rojas said of the four-time league MVP, who counts Grand Seiko as one of his many endorsement deals. “I know that watch, we’re going to keep it forever and we’re going to remember the best player in the world gave us a watch for Opening Day in 2026.”

ANOTHER SIGNING

The Dodgers signed right-hander Jake Cousins to a major-league contract and immediately placed him on the injured list. Cousins is recovering from Tommy John surgery last June and won’t be ready to pitch until late in the 2026 season if at all.

Cousins, 31, has spent part of four major-league seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees but has not pitched in the majors since the 2024 season (when he faced the Dodgers in the World Series). Cousins was 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 37 appearances that season.

He has a checkered injury history and has never pitched 50 innings in a season professionally due to a pectoral strain, a biceps strain and the elbow issues that led to surgery.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes described Cousins as someone “that could help us in the second half – you’re probably tired of us saying this, but trying not to go out and buy in July” at the trade deadline.

“This guy’s been really successful, especially versus right-handed hitters in the past,” Gomes said. “He’s got high-octane stuff and I think he also has an option. So it’s very important for us to have a lot of different guys that we can count on at some point. He’s done it on a big stage in New York and we’ll make sure that we’re smart with his build-up.

“It’s another arm that we can add to the mix, knowing that things happen along the way.‚

STEWART PROGRESS

Right-hander Brock Stewart is scheduled to face hitters for the first time this spring in a live batting practice session before Friday’s game. Stewart is progressing in his recovery from shoulder surgery last fall and will likely repeat the live BP sessions a few times before going out on an extended rehab assignment in the minor leagues.

“I like where I’m at,” Stewart said of his progress.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks (RHP Ryne Nelson, 7-3, 3.39 ERA in 2025) at Dodgers (RHP Emmet Sheehan, 6-3, 2.82 ERA in 2025), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM

Orange County Register

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Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas knows farewell season will get ‘really emotional’ at times

FROM SHOHEI

ANOTHER SIGNING

STEWART PROGRESS

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