Last Phillies player who should be talking smack gives Dodgers bulletin board material

It used to be that players would have to "earn their stripes," so to speak, before having the guts to speak so confidently. Well, the year is 2024 and those days are long gone.

The Philadelphia Phillies are now 61-32 after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the lowly Oakland A's coming into Citizens Bank Park on Friday, a 64-32 record heading into the All-Star break is very realistic.

This kind of success can often get to the heads of young players. Perhaps that is just what happened to 23-year-old Johan Rojas.

Johan Rojas guarantees World Series for Phillies

In an interview after sweeping the Dodgers, Johan Rojas put a massive target on his back and the Philadelphia Phillies as a whole.

As if this kind of remark did not already raise enough eyebrows across Major League Baseball, Rojas took his claims a step further.

"Same with the goal we have of the World Series, we'll go out and win it. We're hungry to win, that's what we're here for and that's what we're gonna do," Rojas said.

Perhaps the detail that makes these statements so stunning is Rojas' performance so far in his career. He has only appeared in a total of 128 major league games, hitting .262 with four home runs and 45 RBI. While these are respectable numbers, he needs to prove himself a little bit more before making comments like these.

Go ahead and get the popcorn ready. It will be exciting to see how teams respond on the field against the Phillies. Rojas will quickly be presented opportunities to put his money where his mouth is when the Phillies face five opponents with winning records in their first six series after the All-Star break.

If Rojas is going to talk the talk, he better be able to walk the walk. However, the Twins, Guardians, Yankees, Mariners and Dodgers may have something to say themselves late July and early August.