Jimmy Rollins Pointlessly Clears Waivers

Jimmy ain’t goin’ anywhere. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

This isn’t really news, but it’s a thing that happened, so… here goes.

Jimmy Rollins cleared waivers last night. That means the Phillies are free to trade him to any team with which they can work out a deal. Of course, there’s this…

Oh……… that’s right……… those pesky 10-and-5 rights.

Stupid player’s union.

One can assume nothing has changed since the non-waiver trade deadline when Jimmy Rollins said this about waiving his no-trade clause…

"“There are still a couple things I would like to be No. 1 on the lists in this organization,” Rollins said, “so until those things are done, I’m not going anywhere.”"

As CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported last night, there were indications the Cardinals were interested in Rollins, and the Phils were even apparently contacted by one other team even after J-Roll’s refusal to waive his no-trade clause was made public.

Rollins took a lot of heat for his stated reasons for staying in Philadelphia. But he has earned the right as a 10-and-5 player to stay with his original team for whatever darn reason he wants. If it’s for personal goals, so be it. It’s not Rollins’ fault Amaro signed him to an extension that would take him past the point of productivity.

Rollins will have earned $11 million this year and is set to earn $11 million next year, with a vesting option for 2015 that triggers with 600 plate appearances in 2014 or 1,100 in 2013 and 2014.

So unless Rollins has had a sudden change of heart, the fact that he cleared waivers means absolutely nothing. He’s going to be a Philadelphia Phillie until he chooses not to be.

Which kind of makes me wonder why I began this whole exercise in the first place.