Friday, February 22, 2013
Options for Rolen
By Jason A. Churchill
Veteran third baseman Scott Rolen says he wants to play, but where could he fit?
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly had reached out to Rolen earlier this offseason to gauge his interest in donning the blue-and-white, reported MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. And the Cincinnati Reds still have interest in bringing back Rolen, too. Admittedly, though, it's tough to see how Rolen fits in with the Reds, given that the club has committed to Todd Frazier at third base and brought in Jack Hannahan as depth. Furthermore, GM Walt Jocketty said earlier this month that the club is moving on and will not be signing the veteran.
For the Dodgers to consider adding Rolen, it would mean they plan to use Hanley Ramirez at shortstop and Luis Cruz as a part-time player, a role for which he's better suited. This could give the Dodgers the edge, since Rolen may prefer to have a bigger, well, role.
Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote recently that Rolen has a tough decision to make. At this stage, it appears Rolen's options may depend on oppoprtunities in Los Angeles or with a club whose depth chart is impacted by incidents this spring, such as injury.
ESPN Insider's Teddy Mitrosilis explains why Rolen has become expendable to the Reds:
Teddy Mitrosilis
Frazier's ready for starting job"Frazier hit .273/.331/.498 with 19 homers last season, finishing third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, and he will take over third base full time in 2013. He's aggressive from the first pitch, with the ability to crush fastballs that leak over the middle and get-me-over breaking balls."
