What is so wrong about the Rollins contract?
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What is so wrong about the Rollins contract?
David Murphy
Among the litany of complaints that I have heard about this Phillies team, the one that confuses me most involves the four-year, $38 million deal that Jimmy Rollins signed this offseason. I expounded on that confusion in today's Daily News, which you can read here. Now is an interesting time to have this discussion, because the last time the Phillies played the Dodgers, Rollins was also a focal point. It was early June, and Rollins was coming off an awful two-month start to the season. The start of a four-game home series against the Dodgers brought plenty of questions from reporters about whether Rollins should continue to leadoff, or whether Juan Pierre should assume those duties. They were legitimate questions at the time. So were the questions about Rollins' contract when he signed it.
What I don't understand is how anybody can look at anything that has happened since both of those occasions and use it to denigrate Rollins.
On June 5, I wrote a column defending Rollins, pointing out that he usually hits well after June 1 and that Pierre lacked the power the Phillies needed in their lineup. Since that day, Rollins has hit .292 with a .354 on base percentage, a .569 slugging percentage, and seven home runs in 158 plate appearances. Pierre, meanwhile, has hit .277/.313/.383 with one home run in 102 plate appearances. Rollins has outperformed Pierre in every major category, yet some still think Pierre is more valuable to the Phillies' offense. Same goes for Freddy Galvis. Can somebody explain to me what, exactly they saw out of Galvis that makes them think that he would not be a huge offensive liability next season? In 200 plate appearances this season, Galvis hit .226 with a .254 on base percentage. Every time he stepped to the plate, he had a 75 percent chance of making an out. That matters. I understand the appeal of Galvis' defensive prowess and youthful exuberance. But you gotta hit.
My bigger point, though, is that Rollins is not as overpaid as you think he is.
Over the last two years, eight shortstops have signed multi-year deals worth at least $7 million per season. Here is how their current numbers compare:
| Player | Total $ | Years | AAV | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | HR | RBI | RS |
| Derek Jeter | 51 | 3 | 17.0 | 407 | .306 | .351 | .407 | .758 | 7 | 26 | 50 |
| Jose Reyes | 106 | 6 | 17.7 | 401 | .264 | .335 | .374 | .709 | 3 | 22 | 43 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 38 | 4 | 9.5 | 396 | .262 | .317 | .421 | .739 | 9 | 34 | 52 |
| J.J. Hardy | 22.5 | 3 | 7.5 | 393 | .216 | .255 | .373 | .628 | 13 | 34 | 42 |
| Rafael Furcal | 14.0 | 2 | 7.0 | 393 | .275 | .338 | .360 | .697 | 5 | 37 | 56 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 32.5 | 4 | 8.1 | 355 | .263 | .284 | .337 | .621 | 2 | 44 | 32 |
| Erick Aybar | 40.1 | 5 | 8.0 | 335 | .267 | .305 | .383 | .688 | 2 | 44 | 31 |
The question isn't even which one of those hitters you would rather have, because Furcal and Reyes were the only ones available this offseason. The question is who is going to take the place of Rollins if you trade him away. And we haven't even mentioned the elite level defense he continues to provide.
I'm not arguing that it is a great contract. But it certainly looks better than Reyes', Ramirez's or Aybar's. Long story short, you sometimes have to overpay at premium positions. After all, there is a reason they are considered "premium."
Philsfan, here's an example of Jimmy's selfishness; Hot summer day. 6th inning. The Phillies' pitcher is battling through a 2-2 game. He's thrown 80-some pitches. He just chopped out to short and runs it out but he's thrown out for the second out of the inning. Lead off spot is up. What does Jimmy do? He swings at the the first pitch and pops it up! The pitcher is just hitting the dugout steps and he's gotta get right out to the mound. I've seen it happen more than once.— Alpha Male- Can't stand how Rollins is always trying for the long ball.— gho_matt
- The commenting section is for comments, so it doesn't matter who is right or who is wrong, as a case can be made for both sides, J-Roll supporters and detractors, but what does matter is that Murphy has taken over as the Macy's Thanksgiving big balloon, replacing Big Chair and his haughty approach to all matters baseball. You were a peon in his eyes, just as Murphy looks down on his readers from a place on high. I don't know where you have this egotistical streak from Murphy, but as you saw with Mr. burned a hole in his chair, you better really understand who writes your paycheck. Treat your readers with a little more respect, lest you become as galvanizing as a certain "where is he now"?— PhillyboyinNYC
- He is a lot like Abreu and just as ready to go.— Tired of Journos
- Freddie Galvis has shown he can play the field as well as Rollins and his hitting numbers were the equal of Rollins' when he was hurt. So there would be nothing lose and $30 Million to save by moving Rollins now. Rollins has had leg problems the last three years. He may blow out a wheel soon again or next year and then the window of opportunity to move him will have closed.— Grapost
- "And the other point is, the team played very well last year with Martinez and Valdez sharing the SS position when Jimmy was hurt."
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@EZ, this is exactly the issue with using small samples to draw this kind of conclusion.
Did you happen to consider the Phillies' ERA when Rollins was playing as opposed to someone else?
ERA in Rollins' starts: 3.10
ERA when he didn't start: 2.66
Are you saying Rollins had something to do with the higher ERA?
Ibanez hit .230 with a .670 OPS when Rollins started
He hit .333 with a .936 OPS when he didn't
Are you saying Rollins had something to do with Ibanez hitting worse (or conversely, Valdez had something to do with Ibanez hitting better)?— schmenkman - "In 200 plate appearances this season, Galvis hit .226 with a .254 on base percentage."
In his first 200 2012 PA's Rollins hit .225 with a .286 OBP.
Looking at a rookie's first 200 games isn't exactly a fair comparison.
Others made the big point: The Phillies are boxed in from all angles. If they have a chance to move any big or longer contract for an older player in decline and they can get the right pieces in return they should always be listening. We're also boxed in with Jimmy and this whole lead-off business. I realize there's no other obvious lead-off guy (maybe because we never have the flexibility to pick one up with the other contracts). But Rollins leads all NL shortstops in fly-outs. If he came across as more flexible -- say moving down in the lineup or maybe even playing 3B to try Galvis out at SS -- he might look better. That and not running out those hits to 1B makes him a natural lightning rod. I happen to like the guy and think he's been a great Phillie. But I'd trade my grandmother for the right pieces in return.
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— s - Murph, there you go pointing out numbers and facts again. People who hate Rollins don't care. They don't like him. Utley is awesome to them, even though he hasn't played a full season in almost four years and really hasn't played much since he signed his extension. But that's okay. Rollins, though, there's just something about him they don't like. The same people also have big problems with Howard. What could it be they don't like? It's a real mystery.— Hemingway
- Exactly, and by the way I am white. — philsfan in the atx
- Hemingway, you might like these two articles:
http://www.thegoodphight.com/2012/2/2/2715299/chase-utley-and-50-years-of-second-basemen
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/26175/chase-utley-great-peak-hall-of-famer— schmenkman - People say statistics don't matter. Sometimes they show underlying reasons why a skilled athlete is declining.
Here is one that seems to go unnoticed.
Jimmy Rollins has 55 strikeouts already this year.
That was the same number he had for the whole year of 2008. On a pace for a 100.
Put those with his popups,and his half hearted running to 1B on ground balls, and you can see why some fans are not going gaga over him anymore.
I think if the Dodgers get him, and he does'nt change, the fans out there will be as disgusted with him as some of our fans here are with Hunter Pence.
In Pence's defence, I have to say it is not the effort that is lacking.It is effort that has become Rollins' main issue.— candidly - Murphy, thanks for your reasoned analysis of why JRoll (NOT Jstroll, Jpop or Jimmy Poppins as his detractors would have it) is still worth a heck of a lot to this team. He will go down as the best shortstop in franchise history, and those detractors will go down as silly.— Dave Clemens
- candidly, disagree about effort. I've never seen lack of effort in the field. Also, an out is an out (Ks aren't DPs, after all), so please explain why you are so focused on Ks and pop ups.— schmenkman
