The baseball season has not even officially started yet and already there is drama surrounding Jimmy Rollins. The shortstop has been with the Philadelphia Phillies for 14 years now, but a rough start to spring training has many believing he will not be with the ball club much longer. With interest coming from multiple teams, Rollins is denying any idea that he is getting traded.
CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury just reported what everyone was assuming, the Detroit Tigers were interested in acquiring the shortstop via trade before the season starter. Rollins is not exactly in good standing with the Phillies at the moment, but the veteran has no plans on waiving his exclusive no-trade clause in his contract to head elsewhere. Salisbury writes in his report that if the Tigers have interest in Rollins, the conversation will not last long because there is no chance the shortstop allows the Phillies to move him.
Rollins has stated multiple times that he intends on finishing his career as the all-time leader in hits for the Phillies' franchise. Rollins is just 60 hits shy of overtaking Mike Schmidt for the top of leader board and he cannot achieve that goal if he is wearing a different uniform.
However, there on thing that can overcome the desire to earn a spot in the record books for Philadelphia. Rollins said that if an absolute disaster occurred and the Phillies were in last place with nowhere to go, he would consider making a move.
"If we're in absolutely last place with nowhere to go and change is obviously on the horizon, then at that point I'd think about it," Rollins said, via CSNPhilly.com. "But anything short of a complete disaster, I'm wearing red and white pinstripes."
As of now, Rollins is signed through 2014 with a player option for 2015. Right now, he is apparently not happy with certain things in the franchise but has already stated he will pick up his option for another season. Recently, he was benched by coach Larry Bowa and he spoke out against rookie manager Ryne Sandberg. Rollins tried to clear the air about his feud with Sandberg, but it is obvious there is serious tension in the clubhouse.
"Obviously he's upset about something," Rollins said, via ESPN.com. "That doesn't mean it's over the course of spring training; it could have been one specific incident. But he's upset about it. That's something when he's ready, he'll let me know."
So does Rollins remain with the Phillies for the future? Right now it seems to be the case, but revisit the topic in May and people might be signing a different tune.
