The Chicago White Sox are going for it. The team recently acquired starting pitcher James Shields from the San Diego Padres in a trade. Further, the team even more recently ate the contract of Mat Latos, and signed first baseman Justin Morneau. However, the White Sox had one more move to make.
Dave Williams of Bar Stool sports first tweeted that shortstop Jimmy Rollins would be the next to go:
Hearing whispers that Rollins may be on his way out with the #WhiteSox FWIW
— whitesoxdave (@barstoolWSD) June 10, 2016
The move was reported as a completed transaction Friday morning by Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune:
The White Sox, a team that has lost 20 of its last 27, announced Friday that 37-year-old shortstop Jimmy Rollins had been designated for assignment.
The Sox in turn called up shortstop Tim Anderson from Triple-A Charlotte to take Rollins’ place on the roster.
Rollins has underwhelmed at the plate with the White Sox. Despite batting .353 during Spring Training, Rollins cooled down in the regular season. In 149 at bats, Rollins is batting just .221, with an OPS of just .624.
Further, it did not help Rollins that the White Sox have a top shortstop prospect in Tim Anderson. Anderson was rumored to start the season at the Major League level, before the club signed Rollins to give Anderson more time to develop. Anderson is batting .304 with Triple-A Charlotte, with four home runs, 10 doubles, two triples, and 20 runs batted in.
Now that Rollins indeed is released, one must wonder what it means for his Major League career. Another team could pick him up as a bench piece, but plenty of players could provide the output that Rollins has given offensively. Rollins is 37 years old.
