Rollins signs deal with Phillies
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Rollins signs deal with Phillies
Daily News staff
Jimmy Rollins has signed a 3-year, $33 million contract with the Phillies, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today.
Rollins, 33, the longest-tenured professional athlete in Philadelphia, has a vesting option for 2015 at $11 million. If it is not vested, the club option would be $8 million and the player option would be $5 million.
“Jimmy has been an integral part of this franchise’s recent success and is arguably the best shortstop in club history,” Amaro said in a statement. “He also stands to be one of the Phillies’ all-time greatest players. This contract ensures that he will be with us at a time when we hope to continue this recent run of division titles. Jimmy clearly gives us the best chance to bring a World Series title back to Philadelphia and we are looking forward to the next several years with him at his home at the shortstop position.”
Rollins has spent his entire professional career in the Phillies' organization. He was drafted in the second round of the 1996 draft. In 2011, he batted .268 with 16 home runs, 63 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 142 games.
“We took everything into consideration when you've been somewhere since you were 17,” Rollins said at a news conference this evening. “To go somewhere new, in my situation, the second part of my career, you feel like you're a rented player. You're not part of the process of building the team up. Here in Philadelphia, I've been here since I was 17. The first day I got here, in the big leagues, it was about making this team a contender and eventually a champion. Those things have been accomplished.”
He was the 2007 NL MVP award winner, a three-time All-Star and three-time Golden Glove winner. Over his 11-year career, Rollins has a .272 batting average with 170 home runs and 725 RBI in 1,636 games.
No need for posters to be fiddling over a million here, two million there. We're burning that up as a country every 8 minutes. J-Roll is a deal compared to that.— Sackbutt- I love when professional athletes, after accomplishing something they're paid to do, look up and point to the sky.
No, wait. I mean I HATE that.— perkele - Of course, Jimmy will be playing third base by the end of this contract, or be our super utility guy. Freddy G will be SS in 2013.— wildboark
- n62, "The Big Whiff" still led the team in HR, RBI. He also hit .304 in RISP, 2 out situations and .298 in RISP regardless of outs. He hit .293 and had 97 RBI in the team's wins. Hit .297 in late/close situations. So yeah, the pitching staff loves Ryan.— palmyra21
- The most interesting part of this article is that, worst-case for Rollins, he has an option for a 4th year at $5 million. Repeat: This is quite likely a four-year deal. He gets $11 million for the fourth year if he hits a bunch of incentives. The club has an $8 million option for a fourth year if he falls short, but they still want him back. And Jimmy has his own $5 million option if, in 2014, he is hurt or performs poorly, but wants to come back in 2015 because it's his best option. I don't have a huge problem with that, in part because $5 million for a utility infielder with Rollins' legacy to the club isn't all that bad. But that explains why the contract took so long (likely negotiating year 4) and why Jimmy Tweeted that he'd be back for three (4) years.— eman
- These guys are good hitters,.268 for Rollins is not shabby. They need a great hitting coach, and Charlie has got to not be afraid to make a switch in the line up when a bat is cold. He sets the tone, and if he acts like its personal, then the players are gonna feel that way.— Larry Byrd
- The question is, are the Phillies going to be willing to eat $19 million (Year 3 and the option year) and get a real shortstop/lead-off man when he can't play the last two years of his contract???— ANGRY AL 2
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- I luv J-Roll, but I'm not jumping up and down about this re-signing.— ej610
- Whe he signed that deal it was just under what Miguel Tejada had gotten. He was a well paid SS with very little consistency in his offensive credentials. He then went out and outperformed his contract, winning an MVP and being a stellar defensive SS. The thing is if he had changed his approach and become more of an OBP guy and run producer he could have easily commanded the 5 year deal he wanted. Instead we will live with his occasional easy stride to 1b and his swinging for fences, his 30-40 SB, his 80-100 Runs, 60 RBI 15-20 HR and complain about it that he doesn't come thru in the clutch every single time. Really! He is still among the top 10 SS in MLB so give it a rest. For a team trying to win now there were no better options. They are not tied to long years or ridiculous cash. Fair deal for all he has meant to the franchise for the last 13 years.— rhcjr2
- The best defensive player in MLB stays in Philly for less money. Philly is the place to be. Thanks ownership.— BigMike100
- I havent gotten over this year and how this team under achieved. Hard to be happy about any of this nonsense! Another OVERPAYED and under achieving schmuck!— larryv
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- They overpaid him, but it's not my money to spend.
The real question is can this aged lineup stay healthy and produce? The answer is no.— thorshuffle
