Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas never tested positive for steroids, but he wants apology

PHOENIX — For several minutes on Monday, Miguel Rojas said his world was “rumbled.”

For several minutes that afternoon, the baseball word thought he had tested positive for steroids.

In reality, of course. Rojas hadn’t. 

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas against Team Mexico during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

But that day, a reporter from The Athletic incorrectly posted on social media that the Dodgers infielder had been suspended 80 games because of a banned substance — before quickly deleting the post and explaining his mistake.

Turned out, it was Johan Rojas of the Philadelphia Phillies who had been popped for PEDs, receiving an 80-game ban for testing positive for Boldenone.

“I’ve deleted a post incorrectly identifying who was suspended today,” the reporter later clarified. “It was Johan Rojas of the Philadelphia Phillies who was suspended.”

Two days later, Miguel Rojas was still voicing frustration over the situation, telling reporters in the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch clubhouse that he had yet to receive an apology over the incorrect report.

“I’m not frustrated because of the report,” he said. “We’re all humans and we make mistakes.”

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas against the San Diego Padres during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

However, he quickly added, “I was expecting a little bit more of an apology. Not just to me, but the organization. Because it wasn’t just my name. It was pretty clear that he said, ‘Miguel Rojas from the Los Angeles Dodgers.’

“That’s the only thing that I’m kind of bothered by.”

That was a more conciliatory tone than Rojas struck when first discussing the situation in an interview with Chris Rose on Tuesday night, when he described the lack of an apology as “bulls—.”

“For six minutes, (it) kind of rumbled my whole world, and got so many people around me and around us, the team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, worried because of one guy making a mistake,” he said then. “I’m totally OK with making mistakes. But at the end of the day, I was expecting an apology.”

However, Rojas also said he wanted to move on from the story, trying not “to make it a big deal” or “make it about myself.”

“I just feel like whenever the tweet was deleted and the clarification was trying to be made, I think we all deserve a little bit of an apology there,” he said. “Because it wasn’t just my name. It was the organization that I represent too. And that’s really important to me.”