The San Francisco Giants made their second-most notable signing this offseason on Monday, inking veteran shortstop and former MVP Jimmy Rollins to a minor-league deal. Rollins is a non-roster invitee who will have to compete with Kelby Tomlinson and Ehire Adrianza for a spot on the 25-man roster.
Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow joined Murph and Mac on Tuesday morning and said that not only will Rollins make the team, but that he will be a valuable piece for the 2017 Giants.
“Jimmy Rollins is a component they haven’t really had in the last several years,” Krukow said. “That’s a real veteran that can come off the bench late and help. I like the add. It’s just a matter of can he make the team and I don’t have any doubt that he can, anticipating that in April he’s gonna be there and he’s going to be a big part of this 2017 Giants team.”
Though Rollins hasn’t put up above-average numbers at the plate since 2008, Krukow says Rollins believed he was an everyday player last year with the White Sox. That will not be the case with the Giants, and in order for Rollins to thrive, he will have to embrace a role off the bench.
“He was, in his own mind, an everyday player,” Krukow said. “Even last year when he signed with the White Sox, in his mind he was an everyday player. Now he knows by taking this offer from the Giants, it’s not going to be for an everyday role, it’s going to be fill in here, fill in there. It’s going to be a left-handed hitter off the bench, or a switch-hitter I should say off the bench. That in itself gives Bruce Bochy two players basically in one, if you need a pinch-hitting role.”
“I think if you come to that conclusion as a player that your role has changed, that you’re no longer an everyday player, you start to learn how to do it. You start to learn how to be a bench player and I think the guy has a lot to give baseball, and a lot to give a team still. It’s the kind of player that you want if your team has basically declared that it has a chance to win, which the Giants have done.”
Listen to the full interview below.
