David Rollins

David Dwane Rollins

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 210 lb.
• School San Jacinto College North
• High School First Baptist Academy (Carthage, TX)
• Debut July 4, 2015
• Final Game September 20, 2016
• Born December 21, 1989 in DeBerry, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher David Rollins was drafted four times before signing his first professional contract with the Toronto Blue Jays following his selection in the 24th round of the 2011 amateur draft. Out of high school, he had been drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 19th round in 2008, and then twice by the Seattle Mariners the following two years (23rd round and 46th round respectively), without signing. The signing scout for Toronto was C.J. Ebarb.

He was assigned to the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League to begin his professional career in 2011, then was promoted to the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League before the end of the year. Between the two stops, he went 4-0, 1.77 in 7 starts. In 2012, he was assigned to the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League to start the year. In 18 starts, he continued to impress, with a record of 6-1, 2.78, with 75 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings. On July 20th, he was sent to the Houston Astros as part of a 10-player blockbuster deal. He was traded with Asher Wojciechowski, Francisco Cordero, Joe Musgrove, Ben Francisco, Carlos Perez and a player to be named later for J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter.

On December 11, 2014, Rollins was picked by the Seattle Mariners from the Astros in the 2014 Rule V Draft. In spite of his scant experience above Class A, after pitching well in first spring outings, he stood a good chance of making the Mariners' opening day roster in 2015, but he was derailed by a mistake of his own. On March 27th, he was handed an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Stanozolol, a banned synthetic steroid. He confessed to having taken the product, explaining that he had made a wrong decision by wanting to speed up his recovery from soreness when he returned from winter ball. After serving his suspension, he made his debut with the Mariners on July 4th, pitching a scoreless inning of relief against the Oakland A's. In 20 games for the Mariners, he went 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA in 25 innings. In 2016, he made 11 appearances with the Mariners, with 1 win, no losses and a 7.71 ERA. He also made 37 appearances for the AAA Tacoma Rainiers, where he was 5-0, 3.77 with 2 saves.

Rollins made the news in the 2016-17 off-season for his numerous appearances on the transaction wire. He was first claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs on November 18th, then four days later by the Texas Rangers. On December 2nd, it was the Philadelphia Phillies' turn to claim him, but on December 21st, the Rangers claimed him back. That second stay with Texas lasted all of two days before the Cubs wrested him again, on December 23rd.

Related Sites

• David Rollins on mlb.com
• BR Minors page