Miguel Rojas knows Blue Jays fans will let him hear it

Rojas said he expects to be booed at Rogers Centre when the Dodgers open their 3-game series against Toronto on Monday night. That is not random noise. That is fallout from the swing that changed the Blue Jays' winter.

His message to Blue Jays fans was blunt and honest. Rojas said it will not feel like playing in front of the Dodgers' crowd, but in front of a whole city that thought it was about to watch a World Series title.

That is why the boos make sense. Rojas hit the game-tying homer in the ninth inning of Game 7 last November, then Los Angeles finished the comeback and celebrated on Toronto's field.

For Blue Jays fans, he is not just another Dodger coming back into town. He is attached to one of the hardest moments this franchise has had since it got within 1 win of ending a title drought.

Rojas seems to understand that part clearly. He did not act surprised by the reaction waiting for him. He sounded like a player who knows exactly what his name means in that ballpark now.

And that is what makes the quote land. It is not trash talk. It is a veteran reading the room before he walks back into it.

This series was already going to carry heat because it is the first meeting since the World Series. Rojas just gave that emotion a face again.

Roberts leaned into it from his side, too. The Dodgers manager said the fans in Toronto want a piece of his club, which tells you Los Angeles is expecting a loud building from the first pitch.

There is baseball value in that edge. Rojas said series like this bring the best out of teams chasing the same thing, and that is exactly how this one should feel even in early April.

The opener adds even more bite because Max Scherzer gets the ball for Toronto while Justin Wrobleski starts for Los Angeles. The Dodgers arrive at 7-2, and the Blue Jays come home at 4-5 after a rough trip.

That means Toronto's crowd will not need much help getting loud. The World Series rematch was already personal, and Rojas just made it more personal by saying out loud what everyone inside Rogers Centre was already thinking.

Blue Jays fans do not owe him a warm welcome. Rojas does not expect one. He expects boos, and in this case, he has probably read the city exactly right.