Josh Rojas is back on a major league roster after the Royals selected his contract from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday. The move gives Kansas City another infield option, and it comes with second base still unsettled and Rojas close enough to six years of service time to put his free agency clock in play if he stays.
Rojas Gives Kansas City Another Bat
Rojas, 31, arrived after hitting.303/.357/.553 over the past month with a 12.9% strikeout rate. Five of his six home runs this season came in his past 20 games, the kind of run that pushed him back into the conversation after a slower stretch earlier in the year.
He has parts of seven big league seasons behind him and more than five years of major league service between the D-backs, Mariners and White Sox. His career line sits at.241/.317/.353, and he hit.211/.288/.313 in nearly 700 plate appearances between Seattle and Chicago from 2024 to 2025.
Royals Second Base Mix
Kansas City needed the help at second. Royals second basemen have combined for a.201/.271/.363 slash this season, and Michael Massey has handled most of the playing time there. Jonathan India and Nick Loftin have combined for 106 plate appearances at the spot, while Isaac Collins and Tyler Tolbert each have one.
Rojas spent the 2026 season with Omaha and posted a.246/.309/.433 line in 189 plate appearances there before the recent surge. He can also spell Maikel Garcia at third base, giving the Royals a second route to get his bat in the lineup when they want to keep the infield moving.
India and Kolek Open Spots
The roster move fit neatly into a pair of Wednesday transactions. Jonathan India moved to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster, and Stephen Kolek was placed on the family medical emergency list to clear a spot on the active roster.
Rojas is about two months shy of six years of service time, so every day he remains in Kansas City keeps that clock moving toward free agency at season's end. That gives the Royals a player who can help right away and leaves them deciding how much second-base work to divide between Rojas, Massey and Loftin over the stretch that follows.
