Why Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas won’t appear in WBC for Team Venezuela

Miguel Rojas delivered the most unexpected home run of the year during the 2025 season. Rojas is a role player for the Dodgers and he was batting 9th and playing 2nd base for manager Dave Roberts in the 7th game of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. He came to bat with the Dodgers trailing by a run with one out in the top of the 9th.

A new WBC provision prevents players' contracts from being insured after they turn 37. Miguel Rojas, who turns 37 on Feb. 24, was denied a chance to represent Venezuela because of it, and is not happy about it.

"It's not right. I don’t feel it’s right.”https://t.co/Y1wxRBJaj6

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) February 1, 2026

The Dodgers needed something of a miracle to remain alive with Jeff Hoffman on the mound for Toronto. Rojas was able to engage Hoffman in a battle and he delivered a stunning home run to left field that tied the game on a 3-2 pitch. Instead of roaring their approval about a World Series triumph, the Blue Jays fans grew quiet.

Two innings later, Dodgers catcher Will Smith would deliver the winning home run, but it was Rojas who came through under pressure. The Venezuelan native should be a key contributor for his native country in the World Baseball Classic. That does not appear to be the case.

Insurance is the issue preventing Rojas from competing

The WBC has a provision that will not allow players who have reached the age of 37 to be insured. Rojas is 36 years old, and his birthday is prior to the first game of the WBC.

Rojas surely earned a chance to compete for his home country, but the fact that his birthday is Feb. 24 and he will reach the age that contracts are no longer guaranteed means that he will be denied the opportunity to compete. “It’s not right,” Rojas said. “I don’t feel it’s right.”

Could an exception be made? Could the Dodgers give him the OK to play? The answers to these questions have not been determined.

Rojas is scheduled to earn $5.5 million in 2026 and his contract does not go beyond the 2026 season.

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