Philadelphia Phillies Will Bring Back Demoted Youngster This Season

Despite getting sent down to the minors, the Philadelphia Phillies don't plan on that being permanent.

May 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johan Rojas (18) in a game against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

It feels like a long time ago that Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had some eyebrow-raising comments about rookie center fielder Johan Rojas regarding his future.

The executive stated they could start him out in the minors if his offense didn't improve during the spring, something that was surprising based on how much better the Phillies' defense was following his promotion last summer.

What sparked those comments was Rojas being completely overwhelmed at the plate during the playoffs, going 4-for-43 across 13 games and really becoming an automatic out whenever it was his turn in the lineup.

Yet, the second-year player was able to make the Opening Day roster coming out of Spring Training.

When Trea Turner returned from his injury, Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson thought that was the ideal time to send Rojas down to the minors to work on his offense following him slashing .235/.271/.295 with two homers, six extra-base hits, and 19 RBI.

Speculation has been swirling for about a month that Philadelphia was looking for outfield options at the trade deadline.

That is still the case, but that doesn't mean Rojas will be down in the minors for the rest of 2024.

"No one within the organization views this current arrangement as a permanent solution. Manager Rob Thomson reiterated the Phillies view Rojas as part of the ideal outfield alignment." writes Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

What they need to see from him in the minors is unknown, but it also has to be pointed out that the Phillies fast-tracked the 23-year-old to the Majors because of their need in the outfield. He was playing Double-A baseball in 2023, the highest level he had reached to date, before he was called up to The Show.

That's a big leap for anyone to make.

Rojas has shown the ability to be a solid hitter during his time playing professional baseball. He has a career slash line of .275/.335/.415 while also having 32 homers, 144 extra-base hits, and 183 RBI. His strikeout to walk ratio is a much better 2.38 compared to his 6.08 figure he's had in the bigs.

It really could be the simple solution that Rojas just needs more time before becoming an average hitter at the highest level.

"They saw an opportunity now to play the long game. Rojas can have a few weeks in the minors to 'reset' his offensive approach. He can work on his bunting and shortening his swing. And, by the July 30 trade deadline, he could be back in the mix," Gelb adds.

That would make sense.

He's shown the ability to hit no matter what affiliate he's with. Hopefully this stretch facing Triple-A pitching will get him much more prepared for the MLB.