The Phillies are “very willing” to move Jimmy Rollins

By Craig CalcaterraDec 16, 2013, 12:06 PM EDT
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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.

Red Sox end Astros’ 10-game winning streak

Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
By Bill BaerMay 19, 2019, 7:20 PM EDT
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The Red Sox salvaged the final game of their three-game home series against the Astros, winning 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. In doing so, they ended the Astros’ 10-game winning streak.

Xander Bogaerts struck the decisive blow, knocking in a run with a double in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie. Michael Chavis also hit another homer — his eighth of the season — while Mookie Betts collected three hits and scored three runs to raise his OPS to .899.

The Astros last lost on May 7 against the Royals, the second game of a three-game series. The Astros won the final game of that set, then swept the Rangers in a four-game series, the Tigers in three, and won the first two games against the Red Sox. It’s their second 10-game winning streak of the season, as they won 10 striaght between April 5-16, sweeping the Athletics, Yankees, and Mariners before losing the second of two games against the A’s in Oakland.

At 31-16, the Astros are slightly behind the Twins — in progress as of this writing — for the best winning percentage in the majors. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have made up some ground after ending April 13-17. They’re now 24-22, good for third place in the AL East.