Miguel Rojas brought his own brand of swagger to the field on Wednesday night, and it landed with a sharp little twist given the old story hanging over him.
Rojas wore custom cleats that celebrated the Dodgers’ back-to-back titles and pointed toward a third one being “loading.” The message was loud enough on its own, but it hit differently because of the long-running account of how Rojas treated Jazz Chisholm Jr. back when both were in Miami.
Chisholm Jr. has said Rojas destroyed his custom cleats as a way of sending a message during their time together with the Marlins. Rojas has responded, but not by flatly denying it.
Instead, he told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, “There's people who are going to air out what happened in a clubhouse,” Rojas told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. “I have my own opinions on what transpired, but I'm going to be professional and keep it in-house.”
That reaction has kept the story alive, especially because the details Chisholm Jr. has described have always made the situation look less like tough clubhouse love and more like a veteran punishing a young player for standing out. Rojas’ latest shoe choice only added fuel to that view.
The timing made the whole thing feel even more pointed. Here was the same player who once objected to flashy rookie behavior now stepping onto the field in custom gear that leaned all the way into celebration and bravado. The double standard was impossible to miss.
Whatever one thinks of Chisholm Jr.’s own confidence or how it may have rubbed people the wrong way early in his career, the contrast is clear. Rojas, who never directly denied the allegation, is now the one embracing the kind of self-promoting style he supposedly crossed the line for when it came from someone else.
And on a night when his cleats were doing plenty of talking, the message was simple: the third one is coming. Or at least, that’s how Rojas chose to present it.
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