Brown: Rojas' Rise To Mets Manager Is A Remarkable Story

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Let us all hope that Luis Rojas was not part of some cheating scandal we don’t know about. The Mets have a new manager this offseason ... again.

In the most Mets way possible, their first option, Carlos Beltran, exited before even managing a spring training game. It left the Mets going back to the drawing board, and they chose to stay in-house by going with Rojas, who was the quality-control coach with the big-league team last year. 

While the wisest move arguably would have been to go with a seasoned veteran such as Buck Showalter or Dusty Baker, hiring Rojas actually makes perfect sense. In fact, Rojas makes more sense than Beltran. 

When Mets fans originally heard the news that Beltran was going to be the skipper to replace Mickey Callaway, they were left with mixed emotions. After he put that Mets jersey on again, it left fans taking a trip down memory lane to the days he donned the orange and blue and led the team oh so close to a World Series. But Beltran had zero coaching experience. He barely had any front-office experience, either. He was going to become manager thanks to word of mouth, popularity and his status as a beloved player in the organization. There were plenty of question marks about whether he could handle the job.

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Rojas takes many of those question marks off the board. While the 38-year-old has not managed in the majors, he’s done it in the minors, and he’s truly worked his way up to get here. If there’s anyone who has put in his dues, even at a young age, it’s Rojas. He has truly worked his way up in the Mets’ organization — from Dominican Summer League coach to Single-A and Double-A manager to quality-control coach to now the 2020 manager. It’s actually quite a remarkable story when you look deep into it. 

The initial reaction is, of course, going to be “who is this guy?” Why not go for Baker? Why not get someone with big-league experience? At this point of the offseason, just a few weeks from pitchers and catchers, going with a guy who is well-respected in the organization is logical. 

Several Mets players have spoke out positively about Rojas, whom many of them played for. He already has the relationship with most of the guys on the roster. In thar regard, he’s already a step ahead of where Beltran was. While players won’t go ahead and say it, I can: There are guys who are relieved that this is Rojas’ team, and not Beltran’s. After the cheating scandal news came out, the pressure on Beltran and the players would have been a lot to handle. There would have been questions they want no part of answering. Those are out the window. 

Rojas has a team in place that can compete for the playoffs and maybe even a championship. An 86-game winner last year didn’t get worse. The Mets will be a better team if their key relievers return to old form this year. They have Dellin Betances added to the bullpen. They have Yoenis Cespedes potentially returning to the lineup. There still have a few more depth moves to make before the season starts, but the core is in place for Rojas to have success. The rookie manager is truly in a position to succeed with what he has and with the experience already in the organization. Not to mention, he comes from a well-known baseball family — his dad is Felipe Alou, and his half-brother is former Met Moises Alou.

Rojas has been coaching in this organization now for 13 years. That’s a hell of a grind and a whole lot of time put in to get to this place. If he fails, he fails. It happens. But to say he hasn’t earned this chance to manage the 2020 Mets is foolish. I’m giving this guy a chance. As someone who has grinded and put the time in to get to where I am professionally and where I hope to go, I respect what Rojas has been able to do. It’s impossible to not root for him to do well. It’s a heck of a story and one that has the chance to end with a championship if he plays the cards right. 

Soon enough, if he sticks, he’ll have a new owner in Steve Cohen and more money to really make this thing last in Queens. He’s got no other promotion coming after this. 

This is the big leagues now, Luis. Go get ’em.