I want to start off by saying that Jimmy Rollins was the first baseball player I followed as a Phillies fan, he was the start of the greatest run of teams in the Phillies history, and he is the greatest shortstop in franchise history. I look forward to his number being retired and hopefully his induction into the Hall of Fame wearing a Phillies hat. I wish him all the best in Los Angeles and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves.
Now for the reported trade return:
According to industry sources, Phillies will end up with pitchers Zach Eflin, as others have suggested, and lefty Tom Windle for Rollins
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) December 11, 2014
Tom Windle – LHP
Windle was the Dodgers 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft (#56 overall) out of the University of Minnesota. His fastball is plus at 89-93 touching 94 with some armside run and iffy command. Some sources think the slider is a plus weapon others have it as more above average. The changeup is is still a fringe average offering, the movement and deception is there, but there is no command of the pitch. There are a lot of concerns about the delivery which can be stiff, and some think he is best fit for a relief role long term. If it all works it is a #3/#4 starter upside. He slots in front of the Phillies 2014 2nd round pick Matt Imhof, putting him in the Phillies Top 10.
Zach Eflin – RHP
Eflin was the Padres supplemental first round pick in the 2012 draft (#33 overall). Baseball America rated Eflin the #14 prospect in the Padres system after the 2013 season. His fastball is in the low-90s but some scouts think that the fastball will sit plus long term. His main secondary pitch is a changeup with plus potential. He also throws a slider that could be average and uses a two seam fastball to generate ground balls. He pitched well in the high offense Cal League (128.0 IP 3.80 ERA 31 BB 93 K) and should slot into the AA rotation (which is shaping up nicely). Eflin overall has mid-rotation upside and slots somewhere in the Yoel Mecias and Jesse Biddle tier of prospects in the system.
If this is indeed the return for Rollins, it seems very solid for a player in the last year of his contract (and a no-trade clause). The Phillies are sending some money which changes some of the value equation. It would have been nice to have snagged a player like Andrew Heaney on his way through the Dodgers’ org, but I don’t think there is much debate that Kendrick is better than Rollins right now. We will see if this is indeed the trade return and if not expect no player summaries.
Great stuff Matt, I always look for your reaction/analysis for anything Phils! Right now, how would you imagine the AAA and AA pitching rotations shake out?
I will have something much larger on the rotations up tomorrow, but first pass I would say:
AA: Windle, Eflin, Gonzalez, Nunez, Leiter
AAA: Biddle, Morgan, Loewen, Rodriguez, Nola
You do not see MAG starting at LHV?
Being stretched as a starter and possibly 4th/5th in rotation out of ST, but if not successful out of ST, would he be pushed down two levels?
Until they sign another starter MAG is penciled into that 5th starter spot in majors. I could see him getting pushed to AAA but they do need to sign someone first
You know what…..I got my Gonzalez’ mixed up…..Miguel with Severino…oops.