Chicago Cubs: David Rollins ‘finally” has a home…for now

It’s been a crazy ride for the Chicago Cubs David Rollins. After being designated for assignment six times, he can breathe easy for the time being. He’ll be in Mesa hoping to earn a spot in a Cubs bullpen with very little room.

I’ve already spoken of the high praise for the Chicago Cubs David Rollins, at least at the minor league level. With Travis Wood officially out of the picture for the Cubs after signing with the Kansas City Royals, the lefty may have an outside chance. The hope is that the six DFA’s haven’t gotten into the young man’s head.

A look at Rollins transaction history on his Baseball Reference page is enough to make you dizzy. He’s played for just one team at the MLB level but has bounced around in what many feel was an “unnecessary” amount of transactions. This has become the life of a “fringe” major-leaguer.

"More from Cubbies CribCubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody BellingerCubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North SideMake no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hittersCubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shotCubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups“To me, it sucks,” Rollins said by phone. “At the end of the day, it’s a business. I get it. But I’m still a human. I keep thinking, ‘Teams like me enough to pick me up, but nobody wants to take a chance on me.’"

Texas GM John Daniels–who put in two claims on Rollins this winter–agrees it’s not an ideal situation for a player. But the fact is when the idea has been discussed to help this exact situation, no one has a solution.

Aware of the issue, with no solution

"“We’ve discussed putting restrictions on it at the GM meetings. It’s been brought up before. But when we’ve tried to put a rule in place, we’ve never found one that makes sense."

The good news for Rollins is he’s cleared waivers and can focus on pitching–at least for the near future. He’s got a live arm and enough talent to keep teams interested. And that’s even with an 80-game suspension back in March of 2015. Rollins has moved on from the poor decision after owning up to it at the time.

Next: One fan's look back at Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS

It’ll be a tough battle for Rollins, but if there was ever a team he could have a resurgence with–the Cubs would be that team. His path is unknown, but the opportunity to work with pitching coach Chris Bosio will be a plus. It’s a chance that Rollins should seize, even if he doesn’t stick with the Cubs.