Phillies Alumnus Jimmy Rollins Fails to Make Giants Roster

Former Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins hoped to make San Francisco’s roster as a backup, but he struggled this spring and his time there is likely over.

Since the Phillies traded Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers between the 2014 and 2015 seasons he has bounced around the league. He spent 2015 in Los Angeles before signing with the White Sox for the 2016 season.

Rollins lasted just 41 games in Chicago before being released. No other team was willing to offer him a major-league deal, so he didn’t play for the rest of the season and instead worked with FOX Sports as an analyst during the playoffs.

Rollins signed with the Giants during the offseason on a minor-league deal with the hope he could make the team as a utility infielder. The Giants already had Gold-Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford, but Rollins felt that he could find his way onto the team through the bench.

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Unfortunately, it does not appear Rollins will stick with the Giants. He hit just .125 in 40 at-bats this spring and was outperformed by infielder Aaron Hill.

“We’ve talked to Jimmy and he knows the scenario and the situation,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. “We’re just waiting to hear back from him.” While Bochy did not definitively say Rollins didn’t make the team, the message was clear according to Baggarly.

Rollins can either opt out of his deal or ask for a release and see if another major-league team wants him. Baggarly reported that the Giants said Rollins could still play in the team’s last few games before the regular season starts.

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With Rollins being released from one team and failing to make the roster of another, it appears his major-league career may be over. It seems unlikely any other team would sign him to a major-league contract, and at this point in his career, Rollins doesn’t want to go back to the minors.

Currently, Rollins has a career .264/.324/.418 line with 2455 hits, 511 doubles, 115 triples, 231 home runs, 936 runs batted in, and 470 stolen bases. He is Philadelphia’s career leader in at-bats, hits, and doubles along with being second in steals and third in triples and runs scored.

Rollins will certainly be on the Hall of Fame ballot once he is eligible, but whether or not he can actually make it is another matter entirely. Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly explained it far better than I could:

"“Enough to make the Hall of Fame? That’s obviously subjective, but for as much as he did for the Phillies and for how much he impacted the game for more than a decade, Rollins’ rate stats — namely the .251/.317/.395 batting line he posted from 2008-16 — could keep him out of Cooperstown, even though some of his counting stats are more impressive than Barry Larkin’s.”"

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Rollins, like his former teammate Ryan Howard, may be forced into retirement for no other reason than he just can’t find a team that wants him.