CINCINNATI -- The Reds had third baseman Scott Rolen in the final years of his career, when he was past his prime. However, did they have him in the final years of a Hall of Fame career?
Rolen is eligible for consideration for the Hall of Fame for the first time as his name appeared on the 2018 ballot that was released on Monday. The induction announcement will be at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 24 on MLB Network. No other former Reds are under consideration on this year's ballot.
Voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America will have plenty to mull over when considering Rolen's credentials. Over a 17-year career from 1996-2012 with the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds, he slashed .281/.364/.490 with 316 home runs and 1,287 RBIs. He was a member of the Cardinals' 2006 World Series championship team.
• Complete Hall of Fame coverage
Rolen, who was the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year Award winner, was a seven-time All-Star and eight-time NL Gold Glove Award winner. He was viewed by many as the best defensive third baseman of his era.
Although his basic numbers don't completely jump off of the page -- and he will likely be overshadowed by fellow first-timers on the ballot like Chipper Jones and Jim Thome -- Rolen's case will likely be made via a deeper dive.
According to Jay Jaffe, author of the Cooperstown Casebook, which evaluated who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame with his own JAWS ranking system, Rolen's case looks pretty good.
Rolen, 42, has a lifetime WAR of 70.0 and a JAWS number of 56.8. Of the 13 third basemen in the Hall of Fame, the average WAR is 67.5 and JAWS is 55.2.
It was an unexpected Trade Deadline deal that brought Rolen to the Reds on July 31, 2009. The move that sent third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and pitchers Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart to Toronto came when the Reds were not contending. However, then-general manager Walt Jocketty had Rolen with the Cardinals and valued his leadership. On a team with rising stars like Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, Rolen helped bring a culture change and a veteran presence to a team that hadn't experienced a winning season since '00.
At the time of the trade, Encarnacion was a struggling player who was later claimed twice off of waivers before emerging as a superstar for Toronto and Cleveland. But that didn't diminish what Rolen meant to the Reds. During his time there, he went to a pair of All-Star Games and won a Gold Glove. He also battled injuries, mainly to his right shoulder, that limited him to less than 100 games over both of his final two seasons.
Cincinnati won NL Central Division titles with Rolen in 2010 and '12. He retired after the Reds were eliminated by the Giants in the '12 NL Division Series.