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.
Retaining Rollins is a sound baseball decision. He infuriates me as a leadoff hitter -- last year, he might have been the worst in all of baseball -- but he is still a very good short stop.— jfar86- Wonder how many games Charlie is going to have to sit him done for attitude problems this seasons?— Dull
- Bat him 7th move polanco up in the order. to early to get rid of Rollins,he represents a good value for the dollar just like the phils like it.— PhillyNH
Comment removed.- Jimmy's the best Phillies shortstop probably ever, but why are the Phillies bean counters guarantying him the 2011 money now? Could this not have waited until he comes out of 2010 healthy and productive?— ChillyWilly
- Bruntlett is no longer on the team, Sandman. (LOL)— Jerome99RIP
- The Phillies aren't a team with one dependable starter. Any team in the majors would be happy to have Hamels. He had a rough year, but he's only 25 years old. He'll be fine. Look at Carlton's numbers at that age. Plus, he had never pitched so many innings as he did in 08. He was bound to experience a let down. A year older and wiser, he'll learn form it, be prepared for this year. Blanton is also dependable. He eats innings, gives it his all, leaving nothing on the field. Happ is the guy no one wanted to part with. I count four dependable starters: Halladay, Hamels, Happ, and Blanton. THe fifth guy will be the fifth guy, and you never know what you're going to get when it's December and you are looking toward a competition for the 5th spot. So to say we only have one dependable starter is moronic. We have four. We have one or two who will likely win a CY in future. If you want a rotation with five CY winners, you're dreaming. This team is good enough to win the NL again. If Lee was going to be traded, I would have liked him to go at the deadline, but hey, he's gone now. We needed the prospects. To say that prospects are just prospects is way too easy. You know who else used to be prospects? Utley, Rollins, Hamels, Howard, Chooch, Happ. If we had traded them away when they were just prospects, 2008 would never have happened.— Scorekeeper
- Lee is gone...get over it! Once the Eagles flop again in the NFC Championship game it will be less than a month until Spring Training :)— tralala
- Comment removed.
- He's not a lead off hitter? Got to love Philly fans. The guy is one of the best players in the history of the franchise, and is the best shortstop. Not only that, he is the leader of a team that went to the world series two years in a row. How could anyone in their right mind have a problem with this move. And I also find it fascinating that all the sudden people are talking about Cole Hamels tanking again this year. Really? The guy has a rough year at 25 and all the sudden he can't pitch? So the Phillies should just forget what Hamels did the first four years of his career and concentrate exclusively on one year? Thank God the management of the Phillies don't think like some of the people who post here, because if they did, the Phillies would be back to the glory days of 100 loss seasons.— Hemingway
- They could have signed Scutaro at $4MM per season x 2, the way Boston smartly did early on, for comparable defense (but for $4.5MM less per season than Jimmy), then traded J-Roll to the BoSox (with his under-weight contract for the next 2 years) along with Ibanez (and his over-weight contract for the next 2 years, but affordable to Boston when compared to Holliday and Bay - the two FA's they were looking at), for Bucholz and a maybe a prospect or two. Clay became expendable for their other needs the moment they signed Lackey. All of a sudden, the farm system isn't quite so bare, you have a rotation of Roy, Cliff, Cole, Clay and JA, and (voila) you have they money to cover Lee (and insurance in Clay if Cliff walked away after 2010). And guess what, now you can unload Blanton for less than you originally wanted, yet beef up the farm a just little bit more. And, magically, you're pretty close to having freed up enough to dough to extend Werth. And if they were really smart about it, they would have packaged Dom Brown (higher ceiling notwithstanding) and kept Taylor to play left field next year (with Francisco available to spell him if needed) since he's essentially ready for the bigs. Its not rocket science. There are risks involved to be sure. But you have to have a plan (that is, other than "a get Roy Halladay at all costs and don't think strategically about anything else" plan) and execute on it. Since we traded all the prospects necessary to get Cliff and Roy, the only acceptable return for those assets was to have had them both for 2009. They still could have traded away Cliff this off-season and been in this exact same place (but maybe with another WS trophy, but maybe not too), but at least would have gotten what they paid for. They paid for a Ferrari but drove away with a Toyota. They invested $100, but ended up with $75. Call it what you want, but its not good. But you all are right. I'm sure the BoSox won't win the WS because Scutaro is their SS. Please!— bm2626
- I'm glad he's still a Phillie. He should have a bounce-back season this year. Let Shane lead-off, put Jimmy in the 7 spot.— Andrewsgvl
- That is a lot of cheese.— PhillyIam
- As much as Jimmy aggravates me with his hitting approach, all is forgiven for that clutch hit against LA. He's gold in my book until he swings at the first pitch after seeing the 3 guys in front of him walk.
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