What will the LA Angels do with Jose Rojas now that he was not selected in Rule 5 draft.

The LA Angels decided to leave prospect Jose Rojas off the 40-man roster thus leaving him unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft. This draft is for any player who has been with an organization for more than 5 years.

Many experts thought for sure that the LA Angels Jose Rojas would be lost in the Rule 5 Draft.  However, Rojas was not selected meaning the Angels retain his rights for now.  Rojas can play multiple positions including second base, third base and the corner outfield spot.  He is not the greatest on defense which could have hurt his stock.

As a hitter Rojas can hit hitting 64 HRs in the past five seasons since being drafted in the 36th round out of Vanguard University. He grew up in Anaheim as well so he is a total local product.  However, for some reason the Angels don’t seem to value him.  I’ve heard from some people in the know that there are some people within the Angels organization that are not sold on Rojas. This would explain why he has not be given an opportunity in the majors as of yet and it is probably why he was left off the 40-man roster.

Now with the Angels signing Anthony Rendon it makes the team’s crowded infield a little more crowded.  Rendon will probably play at least 140 games at 3B which means Matt Thaiss, Luis Rengifo, Tommy La Stella, and David Fletcher and possibly Taylor Ward to fight for time at second and first base so Rojas likely would not make the roster ahead of those players. He has worked some in left and right field last season so he could play some out there unless Jo Adell makes the team out of Spring Training, turning Brian Goodwin into a fourth outfielder.

It might have been better for Rojas if he was selected in the Rule 5 Draft because he then could get an opportunity to prove himself in Anaheim which is very unlikely this season unless there is a rash of injuries.

If Rojas does well in Spring Training there is a slim chance he could make the Opening Day roster, but likely there would have to be an injury for him to get a shot to break camp with the Angels.  Jose Rojas, I believe, if given a chance, he will rake in the majors We will just have to see how things shake out in 2020.