The Phillies are “very willing” to move Jimmy Rollins

By Craig CalcaterraDec 16, 2013, 12:06 PM EST
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Buster Olney of ESPN says that the Phillies are “very willing” to trade Jimmy Rollins.

Which, sure. But he’s going to make $11 million in 2014 and his biggest strength these days — his durability — pretty much ensures that he’ll reach the plate appearance incentives that will cause his $11 million vesting option for the 2015 season to vest. Last year he hit .252/.318/.348 across in 666 plate appearances. He needs 434 in 2014 for the option to vest. Oh, Rollins is also a 10-5 guy, so he can veto any trade.

Could Rollins be moved? Maybe. But it’s way more likely that someone interested in spending $22 million on a shortstop would do better to go after Stephen Drew, pay a little more and get a lot more out of the bargain.

The Reds have “jumped into” the J.T. Realmuto sweepstakes

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By Craig CalcaterraDec 12, 2018, 1:41 PM EST
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The Cincinnati Reds have popped up in rumors for a lot of players that one would not normally expect. Free agents like Dallas Keuchel and, earlier, Patrick Corbin. Trade bait like Yasiel Puig. I’m not sure how serious any of that pursuit has been. Maybe it’s just P.R.-driven noise aimed at making Reds fans think the team is going for it or whatever, but it’s been kind of fun. The Reds have, basically, been that guy who shows up in everyone’s photos from the party even though no one knows who he came with or why he was there.

The latest hot stove photobomb for the Reds is Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto. Craig Mish of SiriusXM reports that they have “jumped into” his trade market.

There seems to be some room to jump, as the talks with the Mets are perceived to have cooled off in the past 24 hours. It’s also the case that the Reds are far more likely to be able to improve via a trade than via the free agent market, as the Reds aren’t as attractive a landing spot as a lot as some other places. Still, given that the Marlins are the trading partner, it will almost certainly cost a lot in prospects or young big league talent to get Realmuto and that’s the sort of talent the Reds should not be in the business of giving up, so it’s hard to see a match.

But hey, the party is fun. Why not hang out for a while?