Miguel Angel Rojas (born April 17, 1963) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player, coach, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He played in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

from 1983 to 1984 for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

organizations. After his playing career, he continued his involvement in professional baseball as a coach and manager for several organizations. He is the current manager for the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

and the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A., better known by its commercial name as the Leones del Caracas, is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVPB). The owner and sole shareholder of the sports club is Ricardo C ...

of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

. Rojas is the son of former MLB

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

, coach, manager and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Octavio "Cookie" Rojas, still in baseball as a television analyst on the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

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network. His brother Victor is the TV play-by-play announcer for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Baseball career

Rojas was born in Miami, Florida. He is a former catcher who played in the

and

farm systems during the 1980s. His

Baseball-Reference Baseball Reference is a baseball statistics database maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for Major League Baseball (MLB) players and teams as well as records, MLB draft history, and sabermetrics. History Founde ...

page lists him as playing only in 1983–1984, but his mlb.com biography credits him with four years of minor league service, through 1986. He threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

, stood tall and weighed as an active player. rom 1987–1991, he coached in the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

ranks as an assistant with St. Thomas University.Official biography, mlb.com
/ref> After

managing Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

in the

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

s of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, Rojas joined the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

' organization in . He piloted teams at the Short Season-A, Class A and Triple-A levels. He skippered the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

in , the first of his two, one-year stints in that job, and led the club to an 82–61

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a playoff berth. However, Toledo was eliminated in the first round by the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. Rojas then became field coordinator for the Detroit farm system in 2008 and, later, director of player development. He was named Detroit's MLB bullpen coach on July 3, 2011, when his predecessor, Jeff Jones, was promoted to Detroit's pitching coach position. Working under manager

Jim Leyland James Richard Leyland (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He serves as a special assistant to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Leyland led the Florida Marlins to t ...

, he served in that post until the end of the season. When Leyland retired, Rojas followed coaching colleague

Lloyd McClendon Lloyd Glenn McClendon (born January 11, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1987 to 1994 for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and the Pitt ...

to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

, serving as the Mariners' bullpen coach in and . On November 3, 2016, Rojas was named the manager of the Toledo Mud Hens for the second time. In , a decade after his original Toledo assignment, he managed the Hens to a 70–71 record and a third place finish in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

's West Division. On March 7, 2017, Rojas was named the manager of the

, for the 2017–2018 season. In 2018, Rojas will spend his first season as a member of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

' organization as their Double-A manager; his father, Cookie, appeared in 880 games for the Royals between 1970 and 1977, and made four

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

teams as a second baseman.

References

External links

Mike Rojas official coaching bio
on MLB.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Mike 1963 births Living people Baseball players from Miami Chattanooga Lookouts managers Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers executives Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Idaho Falls A's players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Seattle Mariners coaches Sports coaches from Miami Sportspeople from Naples, Florida Toledo Mud Hens managers American expatriate baseball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball people in Venezuela Leones del Caracas managers