Rollins re-signs for three years
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Rollins re-signs for three years
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
From the beginning, there was little doubt this winter the Phillies and Jimmy Rollins wanted to continue their 15-year marriage well into the future. In this city's transformation from National League also-ran to baseball power, there was one constant: Rollins.
And he will continue to man shortstop for the only team he has ever known.
The Phillies agreed Saturday to a three-year, $33 million deal with Rollins, according to multiple reports. The deal includes am $11 million vesting option for a fourth year. ESPN.com was the first to report an agreement.
"Gotta deal with me for 3 (4) more years," Rollins tweeted Saturday afternoon.
This day was long assumed even before the market for shortstops dwindled to only Rollins. He is the longest-tenured athlete in Philadelphia, active in the community, and still one of the more productive shortstops in the league.
But Rollins' pride was tested this winter.
Ultimately, it's a concession for Rollins, who declared days after the season abruptly ended that he wanted a five-year contract. But even then, the 33-year-old shortstop admitted Philadelphia was where he wanted to remain.
"I've been here since 1996. That's a long time in this organization," Rollins said shortly after the season ended. "It's the only one I've known. I've never thought about having to go anywhere else."
And really, there was nowhere else for Rollins to go. The Phillies were content to idle for much of the winter because Rollins was their priority, and with an advantage in negotiations, waiting was just fine.
During the winter meetings, signs emerged that a deal was close. The Milwaukee Brewers, the Phillies' top competition for his services, were told not to bother continuing talks with Rollins. They eventually signed Aramis Ramirez, a player the Phillies inquired about as a backup plan, and Alex Gonzalez for the left side of their infield.
An erroneous report surfaced near the end of the winter meetings that the Phillies had agreed to terms with Rollins. That was merely premature.
Rollins offers stability at the top of Charlie Manuel's lineup. His .743 OPS in 2011 ranked 11th among all major-league shortstops and his defense remains above average. Of course, Rollins' production has waned since the MVP season of 2007, but faced with using 22-year-old Freddy Galvis or a stopgap veteran signing to replace him, the Phillies viewed Rollins as the best choice.
Amaro said last week that should Rollins be re-signed, it would likely mark the final offensive addition of the offseason. The Phillies have guaranteed contracts with 16 players for 2012 and four others are eligible for arbitration.
In the end, the market was slim for Rollins and a divorce was never a probability. The Brewers never seriously considered Rollins. Other teams like San Francisco and Atlanta plan to start rookies at shortstop. St. Louis was consumed with their failed quest at re-signing slugger Albert Pujols and eventually settled for Rafael Furcal at shortstop.
Thus, an agreement required Rollins' side to cave on their demands to make a deal. Rollins just completed a six-year, $46.5 million deal. He won an MVP award and three Gold Gloves during the contract, one he thought was a team-friendly deal. A baseball source recently said Rollins resented the idea of taking another discount to return, especially after Jose Reyes signed a six-year, $106 million deal with the Miami Marlins.
"If I was older, I'd take a shorter term," Rollins said in October. "But I’ll be 33 when I get the contract. That means I have good six years left to perform at a high level and maybe even more."
But Rollins is five years Reyes' elder and without leverage, he had no other options. Even then Amaro was careful to be respectful of a player with a substantial legacy in Philadelphia while the team maintained its desire for a shorter term.
"Jimmy has every right to feel prideful about what he's done in his career," Amaro said during the winter meetings. "I absolutely understand. He feels he has great worth and he should feel that way. It's a matter of us getting to the right place where we think the worth is the same."
That happened Saturday. Finally.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Could be the end of Galvis in the Philly system, look for him to be traded by the deadline. The three year deal is good, hopefully its for a reasonable price.— ESFjellin- you're right, and what a shame it is too. blanton, lidge, howard, ibanez, rollins - ruben continually hands out ridiculously generous contracts, often to players who dont deserve them. philly fans - you thought you had a dynasty after 2008, well you were wrong - you can thank amaro for flushing any hope of another world series win down the toilet. he just doesnt learn. he is not fit to be a gm. — zwarte piet
- a winning team since 2008 is pretty good. yeah, the WS titles aren't there but hey...at least they are not the Eagles. Ruben did get the best Closer on the market and revamped and upgraded the bench. This team will make the playoffs for at least the next two years. — ESFjellin
- Dude are you freaking serious he's not fit to be a gm. Number 1 Howard may be a little overpayed, but his home run and RBI numbers over the last 5 years are better than anyone else in baseball including Albert Pujols who just signed for double what Howard is getting. Two they didn't budge one 3 years for Jimmy it's a team option for the fourth. Would you have preferred Martin Scuatro, or an unproven Freddy Galvis with Wilson Valdez at SS. There's no certainty that a prospect will be good just look no further than Dom Brown. Also he gave Houston a sack of marbles for a 27 year old all star in Hunter Pence signed Papelbon to nail down our Pen. And put Halladay and Lee alongside Hamles. I guess this guy just doesn't have a clue on how to run a baseball team. — mikemac5588
- How is he not fit to be a gm? That is one of the most ignorant responses Ive ever heard. The phillies are getting old, theres nothing you can do about that. Ruben has done a wonderful job supplying this team with players who's skill sets fit in perfectly in Philadelphia and he doesnt overpay. Howard, yes theres an argument for that but you can blame a gm for that. Would you want Howard on another team playing against us, leaving us with nobody at first? Or would you want to cough up some extra cash (which we have) to keep him. Nobody's perfect zwarte. — kyle.vincent64
- I concur with the not fit to be GM crowd. The number 1 rule in GMing is to not burden yourself with contract commitments to aging players who no longer perform at a top level. But that's all Amaro does and this is another example. He took over a championship team and it has slowly and steadily faded. In the interim, he did such ridiculous things as signing a marginal pitcher in his mid-40s to a high dollar, multi-year contract. Professional GMs don't do that, and no other professional GM was willing to give Rollins this deal or anything close to it. — jtj06
- You mean like the Cards just did with aging veterans? You're confusing aging vets who can still play with prospects who have done zip in the majors. Ruben has done a great job keeping this team poised for another title and being relevant. Some other Philly teams should take notice.
By the way, Galvis hit .238 in Venezuela this past month. 
Comment removed.- Like you know anything about Section D topics, Clean-Up. Your Beavis and Butthead picture says alot about the semi-political postings on other blogs, wrapped in the flag but covertly Tea-Party-ish. Lame there, and lame here. Truly cleaning up Philly would mean ridding anti-intellectuals, closet posters, and keyboard warriors like you from ever having a voice. Get a life. — 24sDad
- You've got to be kidding me. Three more years of pop-ups, strike outs, sub .260, and one of the worst OBP of lead-off hitters in the league. Great job, Ruben! — n62
- Rational decision, not emotional. Emotions have little to play in business. This is a good deal, for the Phils, for Rollo, and for the fans.
Remember when all you folks wanted to throw Schmidt under the bus? Now you love him to death.
As for Galvis, he'll either play his way up, or he won't. 24 will tell you there are no gifts in baseball, you have to earn them and your way.— 24sDad - I was kind of hoping for some new blood and a new approach. Not the guy who is proudly uncoachable and who has to run selectively for fear of pulling a muscle. I don't think I want to watch these guys continue to age and decline. Three years was enough. Call me when Howard, Rollins, Utley have been replaced.— jtj06
- I so agree... ...oh well — justacarpenter
- Please ,please , please stick by this. I expect from this point on to never see you pop up on a Phillies comment board until the three guys are gone. — UncleStosh
- I won't watch the games regularly like I have been, but it doesn't take too much time to read about the 0-fers and type out a told you so comment. Sorry. — jtj06
