Mets Must Be Pleased With Jefferson Rojas' Acceleration of His Own Timeline

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The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs are no strangers to doing business with each other. Of course, there’s the infamous Pete Crow-Armstrong trade back in 2021, which has not aged well in the slightest for one of those franchises in particular. But the two teams made another deal this summer that could pay dividends for the Mets.

David Stearns sent pitcher Clay Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to Chicago in exchange for 21-year-old infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. And while there was plenty to like about Rojas when he came over, he might be even better than the Mets initially anticipated. Rojas had posted an .800 OPS with the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate, along with 15 home runs (already a career high) and 17 stolen bases.

With solid defensive ability across the infield, he profiled as someone who could be ready for major-league action in the near-future. That’s especially true now. For as good as Rojas was with Chicago, the Mets seemingly unlocked another level of production after bringing him into the organization.

He was assigned to Double-A Binghamton upon his arrival, and he absolutely took off. Across 29 games, he recorded 18 extra-base hits, a .929 OPS and three stolen bases. Those are significantly better numbers than he posted during his already impressive stretch with the Cubs, and his performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse late in the season. He only appeared in six games at that level, and his strikeout numbers increased fairly substantially... but so did just about everything else. Rojas launched three home runs in those six games, drove in seven runs and scored eight of his own.

Most 21-year-olds aren’t even at Triple-A yet, and a lot aren’t even at Double-A. Rojas was already dominating at the highest levels of the minor leagues, so what led to his sudden surge in production?

It would be easy to look at a small sample like this and chalk it up to luck. However, his BABIP and walk rate in Binghamton were actually both lower than they were with Nashville, the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate. While there’s always going to be some noise in a relatively small sample, I think the biggest change came in his batted-ball profile. Over the past couple of years at the Double-A level, Rojas had a fly-ball rate of around 36%. He’s not the most powerful hitter on the planet, but he’s got enough pop in his bat to do damage when he elevates the ball. And we saw that in a big way late in the season.

His fly-ball rate climbed to 41.1% in Binghamton, and in that six-game stretch with Syracuse, it jumped all the way to 50%. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his power production increased alongside that change. When Rojas started putting the ball in the air more frequently, he began turning more of his contact into extra-base hits and home runs. The beautiful thing is that he didn’t have to sell out for power to do it, either.

In addition to hitting the ball in the air more often, Rojas started using the whole field more effectively. His pull rate dropped from 49% with Chicago to roughly 40% after the trade. Rather than trying to force the ball to his pull side in search of extra-base hits, he took what pitchers gave him and drove the ball hard to all parts of the field. That’s a pretty encouraging sign for a developing hitter; Rojas was able to increase his power production without becoming overly reliant on one part of the field, which should help him continue to make adjustments as he continues to face more advanced pitching.

There’s obviously still plenty of room for growth, though. His six-game stint at Triple-A was impressive, but it also came with a very high strikeout rate and a very low walk rate. He’s not going to keep hitting a home run every other game on average forever, and he’ll need to show that he can maintain his production against better pitching over a longer stretch. The good news is that Rojas has already found success at the highest levels of the minors. With another offseason to refine his approach and continue developing his bat, there’s reason to believe he can take another step forward in 2027.

Defensively, Rojas has the ability to move around between second base, third base and shortstop. He saw the most action at the hot corner this year, which is probably where he profiles best in the long term. He doesn’t necessarily have the range you’d want from a middle infielder, but he has a strong arm that should serve him well on the left side of the infield. That defensive versatility gives the Mets some flexibility as they figure out where he fits into their future plans. And if his bat continues to develop the way it did after the trade, he could give the organization another high-upside option in the infield.

There’s still work to be done before Rojas is ready to become a regular contributor at the major-league level, but the early returns have been awfully encouraging. If he can keep making strides this offseason and carry that momentum into 2027, we could see him at Citi Field at some point next year.

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