Baseball's deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is today, Friday, December 2. Teams can come to terms with a player on an amount, or file for arbitration. The Phillies decided to part ways with one of their arbitration-eligible players on Friday, making a roster spot for an acquisition at the same time.
The Phillies reported that they have claimed reliever David Rollins on waivers from the Texas Rangers. To make room for Rollins, the Phillies designated for assignment the contract of outfielder Cody Asche. Asche was facing an arbitration decision.
Rollins is well-traveled. Rollins was a Rule 5 draft pick of the Seattle Mariners from the Houston Astros. Before the season began, Rollins received an 80-game suspension for PED use. After finishing the 2016 season, Rollins was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs, then by the Texas Rangers before the Phillies claimed him.
Rollins went 1-0 with a 7.71 earned run average for the Mariners in 2016, in 11 games.
As for Asche, the Phillies did not seem to wish to commit the salary Asche likely would have gotten as an arbitration-eligible player. Serving simply as a bench bat, the Phillies likely feel they can match the output Asche would give with a minor league free agent or in-house player. Asche
In 371 games over four seasons, Asche batted just .240. After being bumped from third base by Maikel Franco, Asche failed to take hold of a starting position in the outfield. The Phillies acquired Howie Kendrick to start in left field in 2017.
