The Mets and Yankees both had shortstop openings this offseason, but Jimmy Rollins was only interested in one of the New York teams.
This past offseason, Rollins was traded to the Dodgers, the only destination he wanted, he said in an interview with CBS Sports. But he added he was intrigued by possibly approving a trade to the Mets — the team he victimized for many years with the Phillies.
“I’ve played against the Mets, and seen them go through what the Phillies are going through,” Rollins said. “The arms they have are impressive, a healthy Matt Harvey, [Jacob] deGrom, [Zack] Wheeler. That’s how you rebuild — run prevention. Their future seems bright.”
The mere suggestion of a Phillie choosing to be traded to the Mets sounds blasphemous, let alone such a rivalry antagonist, and Rollins acknowledged that if it was between going to the Mets or staying put, it “would have been tough. I would have given it a lot of thought.”
It’s a somewhat surprising sentiment considering Rollins’ history with the Mets. In 2007, he needled the Mets with a prediction that proved prophetic. Rollins said his Phillies were the “team to beat,” and they ended up winning the National League East as the Mets crumbled down the stretch, squandering a seven-game lead with 17 games to play.
In the same CBS Sports interview, Rollins said he never could have gone to the Yankees, saying it would have been hard at this late stage of his career to replace an all-time icon in Derek Jeter.
“I wasn’t going to go after Jeter,” Rollins said. “If I was 26, OK. But I’m 36. There was not enough time.”
The Yankees ended up trading with the Diamondbacks to land Didi Gregorius, while the Mets are giving Wilmer Flores the first shot this spring.