Trade Him or Promote Him. Either Way, Jefferson Rojas Will Play a Role in the Future of the Cubs

Josiah Hartshorn has, for good reason, garnered many of the headlines around the Cubs farm system this year. He's the sexiest prospect of the moment for this team. He's the teenager already playing at High-A, and looking utterly dynamic. But he's still not the Cubs' top prospect. For now, that honor remains with Jefferson Rojas, who has had a very strong 2026 campaign in his own right.

One reason we may be sleeping on Rojas is that the right-handed infielder wasn't good in his first action in Double-A last year. In his first 39 games in Tennessee (now Knoxville), the former IFA signing struggled to the tune of a 58 wRC+, swatting no home runs and posting just a .041 ISO. It's true that he was just 20 years old, and context should tell us that it's impressive any 20-year-old make it to Double-A, but it wasn't inspiring.

Then, spring training happened. 

Sporting a more athletic frame, the non-roster invitee blasted four bombs in the leadup to the regular season. Now, we should always take a spring training performance with a grain of salt, but mechanical changes and young players sporting transformed bodies are things to note, and so far, Rojas has proven that his spring was a sign of things to come.

Another reason people may be sleeping on Rojas; he got off to a bit of a rough start in 2026, despite the great spring performance. Through May 24, the shortstop had just a 95 wRC+—certainly an improvement over his sub-60 wRC+ last year, but not the start that we all dreamed on after March, either. Rojas only had four round-trippers and certainly looked better, but was still leaving something to be desired. 

A switch flipped on May 26 for the now-21 year old. He went 2-4 with a home run that day, and things seemed to fall into place. Over his last 24 games (107 PA), Rojas has absolutely turned it on. Hitting .383 while blasting seven bombs, Rojas has a sparkling 190 wRC+ over that span, enough to raise his season number to a 136 wRC+ on the year. With a strikeout rate of 18% and walking 9% of the time, he's kind of doing it all at the plate. Making consistent contact while hitting for power: it's impressive. 

All of this, however, leads us to one important question: Exactly where does Rojas fit into the Cubs' long-term plan? Currently, the Cubs are running a pretty crowded infield crew. With Dansby Swanson only mid-way through a seven-year pact, the Cubs went out over the winter and added Alex Bregman to the infield for the next five seasons. Then, they extended second baseman Nico Hoerner for another six years. This doesn't even factor in former top draft pick Matt Shaw (who's been pressed into outfield duty due to the overcrowding) or breakout prospect Pedro Ramírez. Even for a 21-year-old who probably has another year of marinating to do in the minors, that's a logjam.

One possible solution is that Rojas could move positions, which is probably in the cards anyway. While an alright shortstop today, there's a good chance that Rojas will either outgrow the position or never be good enough to play it longer-term at the MLB level. Baseball America describes his defense as follows: "In the field, Rojas is an average shortstop defender. His footwork and hands leave something to be desired and he’s prone to poorly timed dives on extra-effort plays." They go on to point out that he's got a plus arm and could stick at shortstop, but he's got work to do. 

Instead, a plus arm and his athleticism would certainly allow you to dream of a potential third base, left field, or right field transition. The Cubs, likely blocked at second and third base for the balance of the decade, could see what Rojas's bat would do in the outfield. Prior to 2026, I'm not sure he'd ever showed the pop to feel confident about that transition, but a 136 wRC+ plays anywhere. Right now, rather than a guy who might hit 10 homers a year, he looks like someone who might hit 20 of them. The Cubs do have some outfield prospects in the system (the aforementioned Hartshorn, Kevin Alcántara, as well as 2025 first-round pick Ethan Conrad and second-round pick Kane Kepley, just to name a few), but the team is currently slated to lose both Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki in free agency next year. It's a real pathway to cementing himself with the parent club some day.

Beyond moving around chess pieces in order to find Rojas a home with the Cubs, Jed Hoyer has another option: trade his top prospect. While Shaw is looking pretty good in right field and Ramírez could conceivably handle left, the shortstop-to-corner-outfielder pipeline is not a common one, and it's probably not the best way to get a ton of slug into the lineup down the road. All three of them have a good amount of overlap in what they do—and because of that, there probably isn't a home for all three at the same time, either. It's unlikely that Rojas will be making any sort of impact in Chicago this year. If you're interested in a mid-year trade, Rojas is the best combination of being able to bring back a haul and not costing you much in the short term. 

Obviously, Rojas is too good to be sent in a deadline deal for a rental. Twenty-one-year-old infielders who might stick at shortstop with a 136 wRC+ in Double-A don't grow on trees, What he would be able to do, however, is to play a starring role in a trade for a controllable starter (like, say, Reid Detmers?). It might be a tough pill to swallow, but the Cubs are going to have to make some tough decisions moving forward. Prospects are capital, first and foremost, and sometimes that capital needs to be spent via trade. Getting a controlled starting pitcher and continuing to build out the pitching depth (something the organization lacks) could be too good a chance to pass up. If you're unwilling to include Hartshorn in a big trade, perhaps the somewhat-blocked Rojas would be a more palatable loss.

The good news is that the Cubs probably don't have to make a decision right now—or even in July—on the future of their big-time prospect. They can choose to go a different route via trade that doesn't involve Shaw, Ramírez or Rojas, or perhaps (if things fall off the rails) they'll stand pat. But a trade to thin this herd will have to happen at some point, either way. No matter what choice they make—either shipping out some of the overlap to give their infielder a free run to the majors or trading Rojas for a piece they feel they could use better—none of these are ultimately bad things. The only reason we're having these kinds of discussions are because he's been darn good. And regardless of what the Cubs end up doing, it seems quite obvious today that Rojas is about to play an important role in the future of the Cubs, one way or another. It will be either as a member of the North Siders, or as a primary trade chip.

What would you prefer the Cubs do with Jefferson Rojas? Would you rather trade Matt Shaw or Pedro Ramirez? And what position do you think Rojas will eventually play? Let us know in the comment section below!