Rojas calls out Chisholm over explosive critique

ESPN

Mar 27, 2024, 10:31 AM ET

Miguel Rojas admitted being bothered by recent criticism from former teammate Jazz Chisholm Jr., saying “you don’t even know me,” and implying that the Miami Marlins star should “respect everybody” in the clubhouse.

Rojas, in an appearance Tuesday on “The Chris Rose Rotation” podcast, responded to explosive comments that Chisholm made on a different podcast last week.

Rojas and Chisholm were Marlins teammates for parts of three seasons from 2020 to 2022, which were Chisholm’s first three years in the major leagues. During an appearance on “The Pivot” podcast, Chisholm referred to that period as the “worst three years of probably my life” and took multiple shots at an unidentified team “captain,” an apparent reference to Rojas, who was the Marlins’ de facto captain at the time.

“You can’t be a team leader when you’ve got guys that’s been in the clubhouse that’s been in there nine or 10 years even though they suck,” Chisholm said. “They’ve been there for nine or 10 years and the team calls them the team captain. But they’re not a good captain, they’re not a good person, you’re not even a good athlete at this point. You’re just here and you’re bringing down the young guys that are supposed to be good.”

Rojas spent parts of eight seasons with the Marlins before being traded last year to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The veteran infielder said Tuesday that Chisholm is “entitled” to his opinion of his playing abilities but bristled at the apparent attack on his character.

“Whatever you want to say about me as a player, you can have that opinion,” Rojas said. “But you saying that I’m a bad person when you don’t even know me, that’s kind of what bothers me.”

Rojas also disapproved of Chisholm disclosing information that he said should have remained in the clubhouse.

“I’m not expecting everybody to like me, and I don’t like everybody,” Rojas said. “But that doesn’t mean that I can go out there and tell everybody what’s happening in the clubhouse. As a professional, you have to understand that you have to respect everybody that is in that clubhouse. … When you come to a place and you get to a new place, there are people there that have been there before you. There’s rules in place, and someone is going to keep you accountable.”

Chisholm, 26, also accused Rojas of going behind his back to criticize him to then-manager Don Mattingly and recounted an incident when multiple veteran players chided a Marlins rookie for emulating Juan Soto’s “Soto Shuffle” after hitting his first home run in the majors.

Rojas, 35, confirmed that the exchange did take place and revealed that the rookie at the time was outfielder Jesus Sanchez, although he said he was not personally involved in the discussion.

“Do whatever you want to do, we’re just telling [Sanchez] it’s going to be better if you just take care of your business and be yourself and focus on what you need to focus on, which is playing baseball and performing,” Rojas said.

Rojas, entering his second season with the Dodgers, is a .257 career hitter over parts of 10 seasons in the majors. He began last season as the Dodgers’ starting shortstop and is slated to be a utility infielder off Los Angeles’ bench this year.

Chisholm has battled injuries throughout his three-plus seasons in the majors and has played in just 157 games over the past two seasons. He batted .250 with 19 homers and 22 stolen bases in 97 games last season.

The Marlins and Dodgers will play six games against each other this season — a three-game series in Los Angeles starting May 6 and a three-game series in Miami starting Sept. 17.