The trade rumors were indeed true. On Wednesday at the MLB Winter Meetings, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired a veteran shortstop from the Philadelphia Phillies and sent a young second baseman to the Miami Marlins.
Jimmy Rollins will head to Los Angeles and take over at shortstop for the Dodgers in 2015. His 15-year career with the Phillies will come to an end while he joins a playoff contender in the National League. The 36-year-old will earn $11 million in 2015 and will be a free agent after the season ends, which is likely something the Dodgers wanted since their top prospect, Corey Seager, is a shortstop and could make his major league debut in 2016.
Rollins, the former NL MVP, slashed .243/.323/.394 with 17 home runs, 55 RBIs and 28 stolen bases in 2014. Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly reports the Phillies will acquire two minor league pitchers in exchange for him and will seemingly begin their much-needed rebuilding process. Interestingly enough, Rollins was probably the least discussed player to be involved in a trade in the past few months out of all of Philadelphia's veterans.
Although Los Angeles acquired a crucial piece for their middle infield, they sent another packing. Second baseman Dee Gordon, along with starting pitcher Dan Haren, will now join the Miami Marlins, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. The Dodgers will receive pitcher Andrew Heaney, utility man Enrique (Kike) Hernandez, catcher/second baseman Austin Barnes and pitcher Chris Hatcher.
Haren previously reiterated if he was traded to any other team except the Los Angeles Angels that he would retire, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Because Haren made that news public, it's likely there's some sort of clause in the trade that requires the Dodgers to send something back to Miami if that were to happen.
While Haren would be a decent piece for the back end of the Marlins' rotation, acquiring Gordon fills a crucial need at second base. The 26-year-old was an All-Star in 2014 during which he led the MLB in stolen bases with 64. He slashed .289/.326/.378 with 92 runs scored and 34 RBIs.
The Marlins will likely continue to search for a first baseman to help round off their roster heading into 2015.
UPDATE: The Dodgers and Phillies have officially announced the trade that will send SS Jimmy Rollins to Los Angeles and pitchers Tom Windle and Zach Eflin to Philadelphia.
