Philadelphia Phillies: Re-Sign Jimmy Rollins or Suffer the Consequences

Perhaps the biggest storyline for the Philadelphia Phillies heading into this year’s offseason will be the contract situation with shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

Rollins, who has only ever known Philadelphia as his home in the big leagues, is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career after the 2011 season, marking the end of his six-year, $48.5 million contract. 

Naturally, Ruben Amaro Jr. and company will need to ask themselves several questions regarding Rollins’ future with the organization. But what it all really boils down to is whether or not the Phillies actually want to bring Rollins back, and if they do, what they willing to pay for his services.

Rollins, who is now the longest tenured athlete in Philadelphia, has rung up his share of career accolades during his 12 seasons with the team—three All-Star selections, three Gold Glove Awards, a Silver Slugger Award, a MVP selection and a World Series ring, to name a few.

He has a career batting average of .272, an on-base percentage of .329 and has the third highest fielding percentage all time among shortstops. He has also, arguably, surpassed Larry Bowa as the best Phillies shortstop in franchise history. Manager Charlie Manuel has in the past referred to him as the “catalyst” of the team.

But since his MVP year in 2007, Rollins has seen a steady decline in his game, having suffering a number debilitating injuries.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that several Phillies fans are ready to see Rollins go. They argue that Rollins is not the player he used to be, and is not worth another contract extension.

At a closer look, however, it’s quite apparent that Rollins continues to play an important role in the success of the club. This year, Rollins has a mediocre average of .267. But the 32-year-old switch-hitter continues to garner several clutch hits, with an impressive .303 batting average and an on-base percentage of .403 with runners in scoring position.  

Rollins has also played been an instrumental force in the team’s dominance in postseason play. Since 2008, the Phillies are a solid 19-7 when Rollins has at least one hit. They are an incredible 15-0 when he scores at least one run. 

But if, after all these years, the Phils opt to part ways with Rollins, who’s going to take his place? Shane Victorino would likely become the lead-off hitter, which is not a problem considering Rollins was never a typical lead-off hitter anyway. But, with no highly-ranked shortstop prospects in the farm system, the Phillies cannot rely on anyone in-house to fill the void created by Rollins’ departure.

So then, the next obvious step would be to look at the free agent market for shortstops. There, the only two notable names are Jose Reyes and Rollins himself. Reyes would, undoubtedly be an improvement over Rollins, but it’s unlikely the Phillies will be able to financially afford adding another big name player to the roster.

If not Rollins at shortstop, it will likely be an okay talent with an okay bat and an okay glove. Good shortstops are just not easy to find this day and age. And after 11 straight seasons of having one, a sudden change to mediocrity is not something the Phillies want in their lineup.

Granted, the Rollins situation is not the only problem the Phils will need to address this offseason. Reliever Ryan Madson needs to be re-signed and starter Cole Hamels is due for a contract extension.

But, with the Phillies’ recent willingness to spend as much money as necessary to win, outbidding other clubs for Rollins should not be a ground-breaking issue for management.    

After five year, it’s easy to forget where this Phillies’ run of league-wide domination actually started. It all began on January 23, 2007 after Rollins made one of the most talked-about comments in team history. “I think we are the team to beat in the NL East—finally,” he said.

The most daunting question facing the Phillies this offseason is whether or not they can remain “the team to beat” without Rollins manning shortstop. 

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