Miguel Rojas recalls wake-up call conversation with Kiké Hernández that might’ve saved his Dodgers career

Miguel Rojas stamped and certified his Los Angeles Dodgers legacy last November, hitting one of the most important home runs in baseball history to tie Game 7 of the World Series in the ninth inning.

It was the kind of bone-chilling, remember-where-you-were moment that will stand the test of time for as long as baseball remains in the lexicon of sports fans. It also almost never happened.

Dodgers fans will remember back to the first half of last year, when Rojas looked absolutely finished as a major-league contributor. His 69 wRC+ in April was just the tip of the iceberg, as he sunk to a .478 OPS in May. After the the Dodgers had DFA'd Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes, it seemed the writing was on the wall.

Then, longtime teammate Kiké Hernández sat him down and changed the course of the entire season.

Miguel Rojas' career resurgence has extended into 2026, opening the door for a longer tenure with Dodgers

“I wanted to change the mentality, because if he didn’t, he was going to be on the way out,” Hernández told Katie Woo of The Athletic. “Not because it was going to happen, but because he was going to do that to himself. I basically told him, ‘I’ve been where you are right now, and it’s not a good way to live. If you put a stop to it, and you say the season starts tomorrow and that’s the mentality you bring in each and every day, you’re going to be much more enjoyable.'”

To say Rojas responded well to that heart-to-heart would be an understatement. He was an above-average hitter the rest of the way, including an absurd 1.119 OPS in June. He went from the very fringes of the roster to a key utility player in Dave Roberts' lineup.

Of course, it's his postseason heroics that will be remembered most fondly, but even without that legendary home run, Rojas had a wRC+ over 100 in October. Having that kind of bat available off the bench was key for a team that needed every last ounce of willpower to survive the Toronto Blue Jays in the Fall Classic.

Rojas was well compensated for his turnaround, receiving a career-high $5.5 million salary to return for the 2026 season. It's expected to be his swan song, but the Dodgers may have to beg him to return in 2027 if he keeps producing at his current rate; entering May, he was hitting .341/.375/.477. His 137 wRC+ was one of the highest figures on a star-studded roster, surpassing even superstar teammates like Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Kyle Tucker.

Whether or not Rojas suits up again in 2027 may come down to the Dodgers' success this year — it's hard to imagine what else the veteran infielder could hope to accomplish if the team achieves its three-peat dreams. Perhaps an extra-large pile of cash and the prospect of a fourth ring would sound enticing to a 37-year-old vet.

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