Phillies exercise Rollins' option
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Phillies exercise Rollins' option
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
The Phillies made official what was pretty evident all along, exercising Jimmy Rollins' $8.5 million option for the 2011 season. This ensures that seven of the team's eight projected regulars will be under club control for the next two seasons, the lone exception being right fielder Jayson Werth, who will be a free agent after this year.
It also gives a clearer picture of the Phillies payroll heading into next offseason, when they will have several critical decisions to make, including re-signing Werth or finding a capable replacement, finding two starters to follow Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ in the rotation, as well as several bullpen pieces (lefthander J.C. Romero has a $4.5 million option for 2011 -- Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge will both be entering the final years of their contracts).
According to data compiled by the Daily News, the Phillies have just under $108 million committed to 11 players for the 2011 season.
Rollins, who signed a 5-year, $40 million extension in 2005 and will make $7.5 million in 2010, would have been due a $2 million buy-out had the Phillies not exercised his option.
“Jimmy has always been an integral part of our club, not only on the field, but in the clubhouse as well,” general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. “He has been a big part of the team’s success over the past three years and there is no doubt that we want him to be a part of that in the future.”
In 155 games last season, Rollins hit .250 with 22 home runs and 77 RBI. With a team-leading 31 stolen bases, he recorded his sixth straight season (2004-09) with 30 or more steals. Defensively, Rollins led all major league shortstops in fielding percentage (.990) and committed a career-low six errors en route to winning his third straight Gold Glove Award.
Entering his 11th season with the club, Rollins is currently the longest tenured Phillie on the team. In franchise history, he ranks third in doubles (350), fourth in stolen bases (326), fifth in runs scored (945), triples (95) and extra-base hits (591) and eighth in hits (1,629). For his career, the 2007 National League MVP is hitting .274 with 146 home runs and 621 RBI in 1,406 games.
I usually don't bother but......to say Rollins should be traded is COMICAL. You must be a Yankee fan. J-Roll is more than just a sweet fielding, NLCS momentum swinging bottom of the 9th 2-RBI extra basehit game-winner-er, he's the heartbeat of the Phitin' Phils, the dugout leader, the catalyst to the tightest/healthiest clubhouse in the bigs! Player please!!— Ben Lee
JRoll,Chase,Ryan,Werth,Vic,Cole,Madson all need to retire as a Phillie.Doubt it will happen especially with Rube hatchet slinger Amaro.
Comment removed.- Anyone who says get rid of Jroll is NOT a true fan, Jimmy could stay as long as he's playin good baseball!! KNOW YOUR ROLE zWART Pie— rw5381
- rollins not only scores alot of runs his defense stops alot of runs. some people are just plain dumb if rollins was traded who plays ss? look for him to hit 285-300 with 20+ homers 40 steals another golden glove. he is the best shortstop in phillies history (bowa was the best before him) at least from my observation.— only 9
- I agree Rollins isn't a great lead off hitter but they've gotten the WS 2 years in a row with him at the top. Rollins at $8.5 million is a bargain. If he was FA i'm sure teams would be lining up to pay him in the $12 to $15 million range.— youpeoplehaveissues
- J-Roll is a leader on this team and even more important with the ground ball throwing Roy Halladay. The longer we can keep the best DP combo in Phils' history together the better we will be.— Rick Wise Guy
- Jimmy Rollins is nowhere near the top three of SS in the league. He was very much the definition of average offensively, finishing 15th in wOBA and 12th in UZR/150. They weren't signing him for 2010, they were signing him for 2011. This was a move that did not need to be made now.— willy33
- gobirds556 said it all already.— ruttrho
- Seattle is still laughing!
- Comment removed.
- Great. Now we can watch Rollins drop his average to .240 while he swings even harder for the fences and the Ryan Howard-esque limelight he so craves. Yeah, he plays great defense, but he needs to be moved way back in the order and the Phils need a real leadoff hitter. He killed the Phillies many times this year trying to hit for power when he should've been just trying to lace a single and start a rally. Yes, he's the best SS this franchise ever had, but his MVP season ruined him. He's never been the same since. I guess making lame predictions to get camera time and going on late-night talk shows will overcompensate for declining numbers and will help ensure we'll get back to the Series.— echosmyron
- The problem becomes, who else will be out there to replace this man at SS that will be "better" defensively? The options are slim to none, at least in the near future. You'd like your SS to field the routine plays, he does. You'd like him to make the amazing play every now and again, he does. The fact is, due to his winning attitude the last few years, especially after escaping the lazy way of playing the game that Bobby held captive over this team for years, they wouldn't have won the Series without Jimmy. After years of playing here, he finally got what Philly was about. Put up or shut up. I think he backed his talk up quite well.— AJWelk
I smell World Series!— citysims- gobirds - that happens pretty often in sports, just not in Philadelphia.— epbowls
