From John Fay:
I’m hearing now that Rolen wants to play.
That tells me the issue may be money. The Reds are at or above their budget for payroll. The Reds obviously can’t pay Rolen what he made last year ($6.5 million). How much can they pay? I have no idea. But given the way they’ve deferred money, the budget is tight.
If Rolen wants the most money, the Dodgers would be his best option. Don Mattingly reached out to Rolen about coming there. Rolen is not an LA kind of guy. All things being equal, the Reds would be his choice is my guess.
The Reds’ roster is also tight. The Reds have two third baseman already in Todd Frazier and Jack Hannahan.
Rolen’s been terrible since the first half of ’10. He SHOULD retire (and protect what’s left of his legacy), but if he wants to play (and that’s surely his choice), I don’t want it to be here.
The Reds have 3B covered, and I have zero confidence in Dusty sticking to his “It’s Frazier’s time” thinking if Rolen is sitting on the bench.
Anyone else think that Rolen will be the Opening Day third baseman if he comes back?