Jimmy Rollins Wants to Stay With Phillies
Written by Bob Whalon, Tuesday October 11 2011
Five years ago, shortstop Jimmy Rollins declared that the Philadelphia Phillies were "the team to beat in the National League East". Now Rollins wants to play another five years in Philadelphia.
After the Phillies were shockingly eliminated from the playoffs in the NLDS by the St. Louis Cardinals, Rollins is set to become a free agent. The Phillies are the only organization he has ever known and he said on Tuesday that he would like to work out a deal to stay with the team.
The Phillies will get the first crack to sign Rollins. There is a five-day window starting the day after the World Series ends where only the Phillies can negotiate with Rollins. After that, he is free to talk to any other team in baseball. Both Rollins and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. expressed a desire for Rollins to remain with the team.
"Jimmy knows exactly where we stand as far as whether we want him back or not," Amaro said. "There's no question about whether we want Jimmy back, and be in our uniform and play shortstop for us the next several years. Whether that happens depends on whether we can get to the finish line on it."
The thing that apparently stands in the way of reaching that finish line is the number of years on the contract. "I'm looking to get five years, but if it's gonna be shorter, it'll have to be a fifth-year option or something. My option," Rollins said. "If they made an offer now and it was great for both sides, it'd probably be a no-brainer. It wouldn't be too much to think about just because I've been here and I like it here. It's a great place to play right now."
The problem with signing Rollins to a five-year contract is that he'll be 33 before Opening Day and his offensive production has been steadily declining since his MVP season in 2007. Injuries have played a big part of his declining production in recent years as well. Rollins is also a former Three-time Gold Glove winner, but he only ranked third in fielding percentage among shortstops in 2011.
Rollins is from Oakland, so there is speculation that he would like to play for a west coast team. The Oakland A's usually don't spend big money on free agents, but the San Francisco Giants certainly could use a shortstop.
"I'm just not gonna go somewhere just because they're giving you a lot of money," Rollins said. "It has to be the right circumstance. Team's winning now or winning three months within the season. I can't be waiting too long. I'm not used to losing anymore."
Rollins has been the Phillies shortstop for 11 years, but Amaro now may have to plan for life without him if a deal can't be worked out. "I would say it would be a huge blow for us, but not insurmountable," Amaro said about losing Rollins.
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