Mel

Rojas Jr.

ESPN’s Buster Olney adds that the contract is worth a total of $5 million, plus $500,000 in possible incentives. Rojas was said to be drawing MLB interest after earning MVP honors in the Korea Baseball Organization this past season with a ridiculous .349/.417/.680 batting line, 47 home runs, and 135 RBI in 142 games for the KT Wiz. But he’ll move to Japan instead of back to North America, probably on a salary that exceeds what he had been offered by any MLB or KBO teams. There had also been reported interest from other NPB teams, most notably the Tokyo Giants. The 30-year-old outfielder is a former Pirates prospect.

It was reported over the weekend that Rojas was close to signing a deal with the Tokyo Giants in the KBO after playing the previous four seasons with the KT Wiz, but he has since said that wasn’t accurate. In other words, coming to the states hasn’t been ruled out. Rojas, 30, won the KBO MVP Award this past season after batting .349/.417/.680 line with 47 homers and 135 RBI over 142 games. He last played for a major league organization in 2017 with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate. He has never played in the majors, but he’s presumably only sign with an MLB club if he got a major-league deal.

Rojas Jr. was the Korea Baseball Organization MVP after posting a sensational .349/.417/.680 line with 47 homers and 135 RBI for the KT Wiz. He reportedly had interest from three MLB clubs, but he’ll stay overseas rather than returning stateside. With a big season in Japan, it seems possible Rojas Jr. gets more MLB consideration in 2022. It’s worth pointing out, however, that Rojas Jr. posted a tweet in response to him coming close to a deal with the Giants as “false news.”

Rojas Jr. is in line to win the Korea Baseball Organization’s MVP award after posting a ridiculous .349/.417/.680 batting line with 47 home runs and 135 RBI for the KT Wiz in 2020. The 30-year-old topped out in Triple-A in the states but has been a star in Korea over the last three and a half seasons. The Wiz would like to bring Rojas Jr. back and he has said that he will only go back to MLB if he gets a major league offer. He seems likely to be able to net one this winter.

It sounds like there are only non-guaranteed minor league offers on the table for him at this point. Rojas put up an impressive .910 OPS with 24 home runs and 104 RBI over 142 games this past season in the KBO, and he delivered a .979 OPS with 43 home runs and 114 RBI over 144 games in South Korea in 2018. But that is a very power-friendly environment, and the 29-year-old outfielder has never played in the majors.

He should at least be able to find a spring training invite after posting a .980 OPS with 43 home runs this past summer in the power-friendly Korea Baseball Organization. Rojas, 28, was a third-round pick of the Pirates back in 2010. He has experience defensively at all three outfield positions.