Cincinnati Reds third baseman Scott Rolen did not show up for spring training and has hinted at retirement. Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Last I heard Scott Rolen wasn’t retired, but he wasn’t playing either. The Cincinnati Reds third baseman has had back problems for the last couple of years and at 37 years of age gave off all kinds of signals that he would retire after the 2012 season. Instead of actually doing so, Rolen telegraphed his ambivalence about playing the 2013 season by informing the Reds he wouldn’t show up for spring training.

Rolen is an eight-time Gold Glove winner and a seven-time All-Star. At his best he is darned good. He is not at his best anymore and the Reds gave the starting third base job to Todd Frazier, one of the National League’s top rookies last year, whether or not Rolen wanted to play one last season or not. Rolen has to decide if he wanted to return as a backup instead of a starter.

With all of their injuries, including to third baseman Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees have been calling around to any warm body they could think of and whose telephone number they could find, so I wondered if they might reach out to Rolen. As soon as I had the thought, I read something suggesting Rolen might really be on the Yankees’ minds.

If you are Rolen, you’d have to think long and hard about whether or not you wanted to join that sinking ship. At least if you give it one more fling with the Reds, even off the bench, you might end up in a World Series. The Yankees would offer more playing time, but the real issue clouding retirement thoughts anyway is probably based on whether or not he believes his body will still let him play fulltime without breaking down. It would be easy to envision Rolen joining the Yankees, playing for about 10 days and then having to sit out with back pain or some such thing, returning for a week or so and then going on the disabled list.

Rolen has played for 17 seasons, has a lifetime batting average of .281, and hit 316 home runs. He has been a very solid player and in many years far better than solid. It seems more likely that if Rolen wants to play anymore that he would stay with Cincinnati rather than taking a flyer on the Yankees. Still, I’m thinking that if Rolen got healthy over the winter and was physically ready to go he would have reported to spring training.

I think if his body allows it Rolen could be helpful to the Reds. He would be a valuable bench guy as a pinch-hitter and a periodic fill-in with the glove at third. Frazier showed last year when Joey Votto was sidelined with a knee injury that he can play first base. If problems arise and manager Dusty Baker has to shuffle some bodies having Rolen around as insurance could pay dividends.

However, by not reporting to spring training Rolen’s actions indicate he may not be physically able to play, and that is affecting his mental state. It wouldn’t surprise me that if things remain status quo shortly after the season begins Rolen will call a retirement press conference.

Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Considering Rolen isn’t likely to cost much at this point, this wouldn’t be a terrible idea for Los Angeles, who doesn’t have a solid option at the hot corner despite their recent acquisition frenzy. The question, of course, is whether Rolen has anything at all left after suffering the effects of aging and multiple shoulder surgeries.

There’s no question that the 37-year-old has put together an excellent career, one possibly bound for Cooperstown when he does finally call it quits. FanGraphs values Rolen’s career at an even 75.0 WAR, and he’s a .281/.364/.490 hitter in 17 seasons of work. While his hitting ability has all but disappeared the last few seasons, he still fields his position well according to UZR and could provide that intangible veteran leadership quality everyone’s always talking about.

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(Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)

As Spring Training creeps ever closer, however, it would appear as though Rolen has yet to formally make an announcement about his future and, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the team is essentially ready to move on at this point. The team will likely install Frazier as their everyday third baseman. The soon-to-be 27 year old hit .273/.331/.498 over 465 plate appearances this past season, finishing 3rd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. The Reds also signed Jack Hannahan as a free agent and acquired Jason Donald from the Cleveland Indians to give them added depth at the position.

If Rolen does call it a career he’ll finish with a .281/.364/.490 batting line, with 316 HR and 1,287 RBI. He won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 with the Philadelphia Phillies, won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006, and appeared in seven All Star Games. Rolen also won eight Gold Gloves at third base in his career, trailing only Brooks Robinson (16) and Mike Schmidt (10) at the position.

Hannahan lands with Cincinnati after Cleveland cut ties. Image: Eric P. Mull-USPRESSWIRE

Hannahan gets a one-year, $2 million deal from the Reds and figures to be used as a backup at the hot corner behind Todd Frazier. Hannahan is an elite defensive third baseman, but is not a tremmendous hitter. In parts of six big league seasons, Hannahan has mustered a .234/.316/.355 line. He has just 28 career home runs in over 1450 career at bats.

In addition to Hannahan, the Reds could have even more third base help on the way. Veteran Scott Rolen has indicated to the club that he’d like to come to Spring Training in hopes of playing one more year. The Reds seem more than willing to give him the opportunity to do so and Danny Knobler says Cincinnati thinks Rolen can still be a useful player on the field and in the clubhouse.

Rolen will be 38 in April and has been limited to just 157 games over the past two seasons. He’s posted a combined OPS under .700 in those campaigns.

Frazier isn’t a natural third baseman, but did play 73 games at the hot corner last season. He wound up with a third-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting after a 2012 season that saw Frazier club 19 home runs and post a .273/.331/.498 line in 128 games. Frazier has major league experience at all four infield positions, plus both corners of the outfield.

UPDATE (12/13): Hannahan actually gets a two-year deal with a club option for a third year. Quite a nice contract for the career journeyman.

Oct 10, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker (12) in the dugout in the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants in game four of the 2012 NLDS at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Following the Reds 6-4 loss to the Giants in the deciding game of the NLDS, Baker was non-committal about his future in the Queen City, but noted that whether it be with the Reds or elsewhere, he wasn’t ready to retire.

“I’m not sure where my career is going here in Cincinnati,” he said. “We’re going to talk about that in the next couple of days. But I’m not through managing. I have more to do.”

USA Today is reporting that Jocketty plans to offer a short-term deal to Baker and his unsigned coaches when they meet this afternoon.

The news isn’t so promising for veteran third baseman Scott Rolen, who seemed very much ready to walk away from life as a player at age 37. “I don’t know,” Rolen said. “I’m going to go home and be a dad, move forward a little bit and see what happens.”

Unfortunately, the 2005 season would not prove kind to Rolen. After getting off to a slow start (he was still hitting just .226 as late as April 23), his bat was just starting to come around when he slammed into then-Dodger first baseman Hee-Seop Choi in a play at first base on May 10. The reaction was immediate. Rolen grabbed his shoulder and hunched over near the base, clearly in significant pain. He would be taken out of the game and placed on the disabled list, and although he made an attempted return to action on June 18, he was clearly not the same hitter. In addition to showing hardly any power, Rolen also let loose the occasional blood-curdling scream when he took an especially vicious cut. The shoulder was obviously not healed, and he was again shut down in late July, this team to pursue season-ending surgery.

Although Rolen’s 2006 season, the year that saw him get his first and (to date) only World Series ring, was something of a bounce back effort, he’s never fully shaken the effects of a weakened shoulder. Since turning 30 in that 2005 season, Rolen’s career numbers have taken quite a dip, albeit with a few solid seasons mixed in. All told, he’s a .274/.344/.447 hitter since turning 30, and it’s probable that the shoulder issues claim a huge role in that drop-off in production. Certainly it’s unreasonable to expect that post-30 Rolen could match the numbers he put up prior to 2005, but it’s hard to see that much of a (sudden) decline not being largely due to the injury.

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Here’s something to think about, though: even with Rolen’s offensive production taking such a hit in his post-30 seasons, it still looks as though he has a good chance of getting some Hall of Fame votes. He may no longer compare favorably to the very best hitting third basemen of all-time, but he’s still more than respectable in that department, and as previously mentioned, his glove is absolutely first rate. That should be good enough for him to sneak right around the hulking Choi and into Cooperstown anyway.

Consider that in terms of UZR, Rolen has amassed the fourth most defensive production all-time among third basemen behind only the legendary Brooks Robinson, the not as legendary Buddy Bell, and Adrian Beltre, who probably doesn’t get as much attention as Rolen does for his outstanding defense — the two are literally neck-and-neck in career UZR totals. It’s not an unreasonable thing to argue that anyone who plays his position that well is worthy of some kind of Hall of Fame consideration, and it’s not like Rolen hasn’t done a little hitting, too.

Even with the decline in production since 2005, Rolen is still a hitter with a career OPS of .855, a wOBA of .368, and a wRC+ of 122, all of which point to a player who was very dangerous in the batter’s box. Maybe it’s no longer fair to compare his hitting to Mike Schmidt (a comparison Rolen — when first drafted by the Phillies — was often saddled with), but that shouldn’t change the fact that he’s still been very capable with the bat over the course of his career.

The most important thing to consider is that in terms of overall production, Rolen has been so good defensively that his hitting is more than good enough to qualify him as a Hall of Famer. Using FanGraphs’ data and sorting the statistics of all qualifying third basemen in the history of the game, Rolen’s current WAR total of 75.0 puts him 11th on the list behind 10 Hall of Famers. Even if this is Rolen’s last season, and he hinted back in April that it very well could be, he’s already done enough to be enshrined forever in Cooperstown. Just imagine where he might have ended up if it weren’t for that collision at first base in 2005.

Can’t get enough of Spencer? Check out his work at StanGraphs and follow him on Twitter at @shendricks221.

Frazier leads NL Rookies in RBI. Image: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

One of the biggest reasons the Reds were able to extend their lead in the NL Central sans Votto was the play of Todd Frazier. Frazier burst onto the scene earlier in the year and filled in admirably for Scott Rolen at third base. With Rolen healthy (always a relative term with him) and Votto out, Frazier simply slid across the diamond and the Reds didn’t miss a beat.

Frazier is one of the top two or three candidates for National League Rookie of the Year and aside from maybe Jay Bruce, is probably the most valuable member of the 2012 Reds. Through 400 plate appearances this year, Frazier is sporting a robust .882 OPS. Rolen, meanwhile, has played at a considerably lower level; posting a .721 OPS this season.

Rolen is 37 years old and is still an above average defender at third. But his shoulder is more troublesome than ever, it seems, and Frazier has been just about league-average at third base with the glove. It’s pretty obvious that Frazier is the better player this season and at this point in their careers, that’s unlikely to change going forward. The only question is whether manager Dusty Baker will have the courage to move away from the veteran Rolen in favor of giving at bats to Frazier.

Votto will likely get some extra days off going forward, as he’d like to be as close to 100 percent by the playoffs as possible. It is on those days that Votto rests that Rolen should be seeing the field. Frazier has proven so far this season that he’s superior to every rookie hitter not named Mike Trout. He’s proven this year that he’s superior to a broken-down version of Rolen. He deserves full-time at bats down the stretch and into October.

For more on the Reds, see Blog Red Machine.

That’s with MVP candidate and leading hitter Joey Votto on the disabled list for most of it. Thursday, that was with second-base star Brandon Phillips sidelined with a minor ailment, too. These are not the Three Musketeers, the Reds are more like the 25 Musketeers. Oh yeah, some guys are hot like outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who has almost been matching Albert Pujols’ recent surge in average and power.

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A twisted left knee necessitated arthroscopic surgery Tuesday and doctors say he will be on the shelf for three weeks to a month. That’s recovery time. Not included is time spent regaining his sharpness. Votto is the Reds leader on the field, even if he is quiet in the clubhouse, and no one player is going to replace his production.

And after his Saturday showing, he’s got his teammates and manager gushing that we might be seeing the emergence of a pitcher capable of winning the National League Cy Young Award, or at least being named an All-Star. In a timely victory, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Minnesota Twins, 6-0, at the Great American Ball Park with Cueto pitching seven innings and permitting zero runs on three hits. This marked the seventh time this season that a Cueto start had interrupted a Reds losing streak–Cincinnati is 7-0 in such games and Cueto is 5-0. (more…)