One call away: Rollins recounts busy offseason

CHICAGO — David Rollins knows the spiel by heart. It started with the Mariners in November. Someone from the team calls to tell the left-hander that he was put him on waivers and has been claimed by another team. The new team will then call to welcome him to its organization.

In one month, Rollins has gotten the combo of calls five times, including twice apiece by the Rangers and the Cubs, his current club.

“I thought about getting a hat embroidered with all the teams on it — I thought that would be funny,” Rollins said on Tuesday.

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It’s not clear if he has set a record for most transactions in a 36-day span, but Rollins is clearly the leader in that category this year. Let’s start at the beginning: He spent the 2016 season with the Mariners, who had selected him in the December ’14 Rule 5 Draft from the Astros.

On Nov. 18, 2016, the Cubs claimed him off waivers, but four days later, the Rangers selected him off waivers. On Dec. 2, the Phillies claimed Rollins off waivers by the Phillies. 

What a rollercoaster this off season has been.

— David Rollins (@rawdeezy14) December 14, 2016

What a rollercoaster this off season has been.

His time with the Phillies didn’t last long. On Dec. 21, the Rangers again selected him off waivers, and two days later, the Cubs claimed the lefty for a second time.

“After the fourth time [a team called], I said to myself, ‘I’ve heard this before,'” Rollins said. “I’ve had a bunch of moves going on, and it’s been a whirlwind, and I’m like, ‘Dang, when is it going to stop?’ And everyone is asking me when it’s going to stop, and I just say, ‘It’s baseball.'”

The popular lefty, who turned 27 on …

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