An era has officially ended in Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins, the Philies All-Star shortstop and National League MVP from 2007, has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, ending his 15-year stint with the team.
Jimmy, the franchise leader in hits, at-bats, and doubles, agreed to waive his no-trade clause, according to ESPN The Magazine ‘s Buster Olney . And in doing so, signaled to the Philadelphia fan base that the Phillies are now officially in rebuild mode.
Yahoo! Sports agrees, admitting that the Phillies, and Rollins, could no longer hold onto the past but instead look toward improving their ball club for the future. For that to happen, Rollins had to go.
“There’s no turning back the hands of time and, in baseball, there’s no reverting back to being relevant with an old roster that simply can’t produce,” the article states. “As much as general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has tried to offset the downward momentum with plug-and-play veterans and new leadership under Ryne Sandberg, there was never anything he could realistically do without replacing the established parts that were faltering.”
The Sporting News , meanwhile, sees this move as a positive for the Dodgers as well, especially after losing free agent Hanley Ramirez to the Boston Red Sox earlier this month.
“Jimmy Rollins can still play at 36. For three of the last four seasons, he has been a 3 WAR or better player, with a decent bat for a shortstop and defense at or approaching Gold Glove level… jokes aside about him getting up in years, it makes sense for the Dodgers to reportedly acquire Rollins for one year, $11 million.”
The Dodgers have been plenty busy this offseason and look to make even more moves following the acquisition of Rollins. The team traded for L.A. Angels All-Star second baseman Howie Kendrick in exchange for young pitching prospect Andrew Heaney — who in turn was acquired hours earlier Wednesday from the Miami Marlins. The Dodgers also got infielder Enrique Hernandez, reliever Chris Hatcher, and minor leaguer Austin Barnes from Miami and dealt slugger Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres.
Sources also told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Mark Saxon that free-agent pitcher Brandon McCarthy has also agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract with the Dodgers late Wednesday. McCarthy was brought in by the New York Yankees mid-season last year and produced some impressive stats, going 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts after the trade.
It looks like Jimmy Rollins will be in good company when the 2015 MLB season gets underway in the spring.
[Jimmy Rollins image via Philadelphia Sports Nation ]