FLUSHING, NY — Let’s rewind to the mid-2000s, a time when a 16-year-old Miguel Rojas did not know where his life was headed next.
After signing with the Reds as an international free agent and playing for Cincinnati’s affiliates in the Venezuelan and Dominican Summer Leagues, his next move, the ultimate one, was what he believed would be best for him.
But more importantly to Rojas, what would be best for those he cares for most.
So, with a dream of being able to support them, he left his family and loved ones behind in his native Venezuela.
To get to where he is today, Miguel Rojas, a two-time World Series champion, with 20 years in professional baseball, would do it all over again – Image Credit: Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports
Over two decades later, looking back at the mental, financial, and physical struggles he was able to successfully overcome in his homeland and the United States, Rojas, at the age of 37, a proven winner and baseball veteran—with a highlight-filled professional playing career of 20+ years that includes winning two World Series championship rings with the Dodgers—would take the same road to where he is now all over again.
“100%,” he said when Latino Sports asked in an interview over the weekend with the Dodgers in Queens for a three-game set against the Mets.
“I gotta say that because of the way my career kinda developed. It’s been a blessing playing for over 20 years now in professional baseball. Every step of the way, I gotta say it’s worth it to be where I’m at but definitely, there were some struggles there. Not just on the field, but off the field as well.”
Off the field challenges he had mentioned were picking up his life and adjusting on the spot in the states at the same time of pursuing his dream of becoming a Major Leaguer, which had started to formulate with the Reds in the minor leagues but took off with the Dodgers after the 2012 season and Marlins in 2015.
After signing with the Reds out of Venezuela in the mid-2000s and playing in Cincinnati’s farm system, Miguel Rojas spent the entirety of his MLB career with the Dodgers (2014, 2023-2026) and Marlins (2015-2022) – Image Credit: Latino Sports
“Having to leave your place at home and come to a different culture, being able to adjust to a different place is always hard and then making a name for yourself in baseball is never easy,” noted Rojas, one of 88 Venezuelan-born players to appear in a MLB game this season—the second-most for a country this year outside of the United States (Dominican Republic: 121 players).
“Finding a spot in a big league roster is another thing. It’s been a while, like I say, it’s been over 20 years now that I’ve been playing professional baseball, but if I had to reflect on when I was 16-years-old, I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Some would consider Rojas, who re-joined the organization in 2023 via a trade with Miami—the heartbeat of the Dodgers on and off the diamond—despite Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages and Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominating the day-to-day box scores.
Just rewind to last October in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series vs. the Blue Jays.
With no Rojas, there’d be no 2025 championship parade taking place in Los Angeles.
His Fall Classic swing from Game 7 up north, still heard around the world, is the most impactful and significant single-game-tying home run in the ninth inning or later in World Series history—opening the door for Will Smith’s game-winning 11th inning HR later that night.
On the biggest stage of the sport, Game 7 of a World Series, it was only fitting Rojas’ top career moment provided the Dodgers and his teammates with life, or in other words, a chance to hang on.
“I feel like other than just a player, I try to be a good teammate and a good person. I think that’s how I’d describe my career,” he said, reflecting on his playing career as Rojas announced over the offseason that 2026 will be his final season before hanging up the cleats. He will remain a part of the Dodgers organization in a front office role.
When the Dodgers were in pursuit of Roki Sasaki during the 2024-2025 MLB offseason, Miguel Rojas switched his number from 11 to 72, the number he wore his rookie year in LA – Image Credit: Simon Lindenblatt/Latino Sports
“I was never the best player on the field, but I was always someone who wanted to keep everybody motivated. Like keeping everything going in a positive way and trying to help my teammates get better. I think that’s what gave me another opportunity in baseball to continue to get better and now I can say I’m in the best complete form of my professional career.”
Trying to help may just be the three best words that define Rojas’ 20-year plus ongoing run in baseball.
Likewise in the music industry. Yes, Miguel Rojas of the Los Angeles Dodgers has and will continue to make an impact on the music scene too.
In May of 2022, Rojas started his own music label—MR Music—with the goal of taking care of his younger sister Noelia Naidenoff—a promise he made to their mother Norma Naidenoff before she passed away due to breast cancer. As well as his sister, also fellow Venezuelans who are determined to set their own mark in the music industry.
Miguel Rojas’ strong family bond paved the way for his 20+ year professional baseball playing career and MR Music venture which helped his sister chase her dreams out of college – Image Credit: Major League Baseball
“My family is a music family. With my mom before she passed, I always told her that I was going to take care of my sister,” explained Rojas of how MR Music came to be. “My sister graduated college in music engineering, and I wanted to do something for her to have an opportunity in life. And that’s why we created MR Music, the label is to support talent from Venezuela that need the resources and stuff that is required to become the next major leaguers of music. And then for my sister to have a spot and have a job so she can take over and continue to grow in the music industry.”
What was once a promise to his mother to be there for his sister has now become a sense of relief from The Rojas Family to all of their homeland.
A helping hand for some he and loved ones have never even crossed paths with in Venezuela.
To learn more about Miguel Rojas’ music label, MR Music, check out the label’s Instagram profile @mrmlabel – Image Credit: Major League Baseball
“My sister is the one taking care of everything over there,” he said of the label’s progress month by month. “It’s been tough times in Venezuela the last couple years, especially this year, starting the year with a social situation that we had to go through in January and obviously, a month ago, our country got hit by an earthquake that was something we had never felt in the past. We’re working towards helping people right now. That’s always been the goal for my family—to continue to give opportunities to the talent in Venezuela—not just in baseball, but outside of baseball as well. We’re looking forward to continuing to help and finding new talent for sure.”
What Rojas is looking forward to most later this year when the 2026 MLB season and postseason comes to a conclusion, perhaps with the Dodgers raising a third consecutive World Series trophy to officially kick off his retirement?
“Being a full-time dad, I think that’s the part of my life that I’ve been missing, especially playing in Los Angeles and my family being in Miami,” he revealed. “I can feel it a little bit during the summer when my (two) kids are here and my wife is able to bring them and spend a little bit more time with me. But doing that for 365 days and every year is something that I’m looking forward to.”
In our interview this weekend with Miguel Rojas, the 37-year-old infielder said that he feels that the Dodgers are “making a huge impact for the community in Los Angeles and around the world because we have a lot of fans and a lot of people with their eyes on us” – Image Credit: Al Pereira/Latino Sports
Oh and about that role in the Dodgers front office once his cleats are hung up?
“I continue to believe that I have a lot of time to spend in this game on the other side of things,” Rojas said. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do after I retire, but at the end of the day, I just feel like I want to be around baseball and I want to help the next generation get to the point where I am right now.
So, mainly, I’m just looking forward to that stage of my life, but right now, I’m really focusing on winning another championship.”
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