Since the departure of Hanley Ramirez the Los Angeles Dodgers’ new front office has been analyzing and discussing different possibilities to fill the SS role since the young infielders down in Oklahoma City are not ready yet to fight for the starting role. So obviously SS was a highlighted item on the shopping list as they headed down to San Diego for the Winter Meetings. Because of the front office’s motivation and wallet size, there was no doubt that a new SS would make his way to LA soon, but who was it going to be.
Andrew Friedman pulled a rabbit out of his hat on the 4th day of the meetings acquiring Jimmy Rollins form Philadelphia’s yard sale. Wow what a great guy to have to fill the veteran/mentor role for the three youngsters Seager, Guerro, and Arruebarrena. J-Rol must have been going for a high price though right? Wrong. The Dodgers in return gave up two minor league pitchers who have not been named. So in essence the Dodgers received a former MVP basically for free. That is more than a rabbit out of a hat.
What does J-Rol bring to the table and what will be his role? Rollins may be past his prime the last couple of years with below average numbers, but on the good side he has been fairly healthy and has not lost his speed. In the last 4 years Rollins has averaged to play in 149 games (also 651 plate appearances) and has managed to steal on average 28 bags. He may be batting in the .250’s the last few years, but that was on a lousy washed up injury prone team where he was still able to manage to score 83 runs/season since 2011. All these numbers by the way are produced as a switch hitter, which the Dodgers did not have until now. Jimmy also brings 4 gold gloves and a great presence to Dodger Stadium. Those are two things that were high on the list when shopping for a SS. J-Rol will be a great mentor to the 3 young stars who hope to take over in the near future and also Rollins has a great glove, which the Dodgers needed as their defense was not very impressive last year especially at the SS position.
Overall this trade was an A+ as Rollins is the perfect fit for this role and he said publically that he would love to play for LA.
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