Normally, drama surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies would give the average Met fan a cause for schadenfreudic celebration, but the most recent controversy – surrounding the benching of shortstop Jimmy Rollins by manager Ryne Sandberg – is a more somber occasion. Not necessarily because the situation isn’t funny, it is, but because some have called for the Mets to pursue a trade for Rollins.
I’m all for improving, and shortstop is certainly an area of need, but Rollins is not the type of player that would be good for this Mets team. And not just because of his 14 years with the Phillies.
Rollins is a 35-year-old shortstop who hasn’t produced above average offense since 2008. He is also making $11 million in 2014 with an $11 million vesting option for 2015.
A player with that profile just doesn’t fit the need of a young team looking for a longer term solution to fill the shortstop hole.
Nick Franklin, Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings may not be able to contribute as much on the field right now as Rollins can, maybe, but they make for much better long-term investments.
If the Mets desire a short-term investment, you may have heard that Stephen Drew is still on the market. Drew is asking for a contract around the same size as Rollins’, is four years younger and has been more productive. The draft pick the team would surrender to sign Drew is comparable to whatever the Mets would deal to the Phillies to acquire Rollins.
On top of all of that, there is the 800-pound gorilla in the room that is Rollins’ tenure with the Phillies.
I don’t intend to make an argument that the Mets shouldn’t try to improve the team if a player has played for the Phillies, but teams just don’t make trades with rivals.
In the heyday of the Mets-Cardinals or Mets-Braves rivalries, those teams wouldn’t deal with each other because of not only the nasty sentiment between the two teams, but because you don’t want the guy you gave up to come back and hurt you later on.
One can argue that the Mets-Phillies rivalry is dead – or at least on its last legs – so this should not factor in, but a deal involving such a key player in the once-heated rivalry may not be one that the Wilpons are interested in pursuing.
No matter which way you slice it up, dealing for Rollins is not a move that makes sense for the Mets to do, and would be a very perplexing way to fill the hole at shortstop.
Please no.
I think this came up last year, too. I don’t like Rollins, but I understand you put those things aside if he could help the team. I don’t seem him helping the team, however, and the price tag for both the trade and the money would be too high, even if we gave them career minor leaguers. If this actually happens, I think a lot of Mets fans would throw in the towel.
You hardly see teams trade away aging veterans without eating a ton of salary, the money would not be an option as any trade involving Rollins would probably involve tons of cash exchanging hands. As a Mets fan if they don’t make some kind of move at SS I’m throwing in the towel, acquiring an all time great at the position who is one year removed from a career year wouldn’t really upset me too much.
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You are correct. However, I don’t see the Mets given the Phillies anything of value to make this happen, so therefore the Mets might have to eat more money. Also, cut Vasile a break. I screw up all the time, and somehow people still read my stuff. 🙂
Rollins come to the Mets. He’s better than Drew. This just shows how much Drew is overpricing himself. I feel the author is right, the Mets should go after Franklin, Owings, or GiGi. Someone who will be around after a few years.
Rollins is a perfect fit for Detroit.
Rollins has 10-5 rights and he doesn’t wanna leave. He’s 60 hits away from the Phillies hits record and he wants to break it.
“There’s only 30 guys that are their team’s leader in hits,” Rollins said. “It’s a pretty high honor.”
“Rollins is a 35-year-old shortstop who hasn’t produced above average offense since 2008.”
His 2012 stats of 102R, 23HR and 30SB aren’t above average offensive numbers for a shortstop???
While I respect your opinion of not wanting Rollins on the Mets, anything you write from this point onward is useless and can’t be taken seriously. There are a lot of sports writers out there, I hardly consider myself one, but when I post on a website, even a simple comment let alone an article, I always check my facts. You should do yourself a favor and do the same.
First of all, thank you for taking the time to read and comment on the article.
Our disagreement over Rollins stems from our using of a different standard to judge Rollins’ offense. I judged Rollins’ numbers from the standard of OPS and wOBA. Here are his numbers in those categories from 2009-2013: .719, .694, .736, .743, .667 and .312, .309, .325, .322, .295. Here are the league average numbers in that time: .751, .728, .720, .724, .714 and .329, .321, .316, .315, .314. While there were some years that Rollins outperformed these numbers, context is important. Being that Citizens Bank Park favors hitters, his numbers have been inflated a certain extent than what they would have been in a neutral park. So I stand by my assertion that he hasn’t produced above league average offense since 2008.
If you want to read more of my useless, can’t be taken seriously stuff, it can be found here: http://www.mets360.com/?author=23.
Thanks again for reading!
Jason, I think that you are overreacting to a specific mistake. We all make them. The general theme of Joe’s article is right on. Jimmy Rollins was an outstanding player in his prime. He’s now on a downward slope and would be a poor investment for the Mets.