San Francisco Giants: Three Non-Roster Invitees to Watch

Jimmy Rollins

The signing of Jimmy Rollins was very intriguing to me this offseason. Obviously Rollins is at the end of a great career, but you wonder what he has left to offer a team that is trying to win a World Series?

He certainly has the experience and confidence needed on a championship team, and you hope that he instills that confidence on this team during spring training and possibly into the season.

Rollins has spent the vast majority of his career at shortstop, which is a position that is locked up for the San Francisco Giants by Brandon Crawford. In order for Rollins to have any chance of cracking this lineup I think he’ll need to show that he’s versatile enough to play second base as well.

The signing of Gordon Beckham makes it even tougher for Rollins to make the big league team out of camp because Beckham has already proven that he can play short, second and third.

However, Rollins has spent 17 years in the big leagues for a reason. He’s a great ball player, and you just hope he can showcase that ability one more time.

Last year was quite the struggle for Rollins as he hit just .221 in 41 games for the Chicago White Sox, and he only hit 2 home runs. Even though he doesn’t look like a power hitter, he’s hit double-digit home runs in 12 seasons, including as recent as 2015 when he hit 13 with the Dodgers.

What makes Rollins so attractive is that he’s a switch hitter, which is perfect for coming in as a pinch-hitter. I would feel very comfortable late in a game with Rollins coming off the bench in a big situation.