Following his DFA from the White Sox, Jimmy Rollins hopes to continue his career, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Crasnick speculates that Rollins could make a nice addition as a bench piece for a contender, which seems like a reasonable role for him at this juncture of his career. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, meanwhile, tweets that Rollins, a Bay Area native, hasn’t been interested in playing for the Giants in the past but has long been open to the idea of playing for the Athletics, for whom he grew up cheering.
A few more notes pertaining to the AL Central…
- Following up on Jeff Passan’s report from earlier this week regarding Yordano Ventura, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal wrote that he, too, heard that Ventura had been offered to other clubs in trades as recently as a couple of weeks ago. However, Rosenthal adds that when he questioned a Royals official on the matter, he was met with a reply about how perilously thin the Kansas City rotation is even with Ventura on board. That’s not a firm denial, of course, and the Royals could conceivably ask for a rotation piece back in theoretical trade scenarios. Trade talks aside, Rosenthal wrote that the Royals have spoken to Ventura about his maturity issues over and over again with seemingly little effect. The issues go beyond his fiery demeanor, Rosenthal notes, as Ventura is known to even add some dramatic flair to his pitching mechanics during games; while he looks smooth and fluid in side sessions, he’s taken to finishing with a high, exaggerated leg kick during games — a trend the Royals would like to stop. Rosenthal opines that Ventura’s career is at a crossroads, noting that he was a rock in their rotation as recently as 2015 postseason but hasn’t demonstrated a willingness to curtail his emotions.
- Eduardo Nunez has been an unexpected bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Twins, writes 1500 ESPN’s Judd Zulgad, which is the precise reason that he opines the Twins should look to sell high on him this summer. Every action the Twins make from this point forth needs to be with 2017 and beyond in mind, he continues, and moving Nunez (who can be a free agent following the 2017 season) while his value is at or near its peak would return young talent and allow the Twins an extended look at top infield prospect Jorge Polanco. The Mets are one speculative trading partner for the Twins with regards to Nunez, who is batting an excellent but likely unsustainable .332/.357/.531 through 209 plate appearances this season and is capable of playing shortstop, second base, third base and left field.
Anyone have more context on that mention of Rollins being the one who complained about Laroche’s son?
Where was that?
Who cares about Laroche the cry baby quitter. He quit on his team.
jimmy rollins sticking to his oakland roots, i love it!
Jimmy Rollins, even at his age, is 10x better a defensive SS than the natural-LF Marcus Semien is.
Semien has a 5.7 UZR/150 this year. Rollins is -5.5. Age gets everyone in the end.
Mariners need a vet ss of bench
Trade Terry Ryan. He’s the biggest problem the Twins have
Agreed. Also, Pohlad doesn’t know how to own a baseball team. Please sell.
Can’t Pohlad please just sell the team?
You can have Williams from the white sox.
Smh. I bet all of you were drinking different Kool-Aid last year.
Jimmy, hang it up. As a Yankee fan, Nuñez could always hit but couldn’t catch a cold in the field.
In my opinion, the Pohlads don’t seem to be all that interested in baseball. They see it as a business, and as long as they make a profit, they will continue to hold onto the team. Very frustrating!
Wasn’t it Carl Pohlad who saved the Twins from being relocated? Be grateful you fellas in the Land of 10,000 lakes (Michigan has more) have a team.