On Monday, the Giants signed Jimmy Rollins to a minor-league contract.
Will he be on the team's 2017 Opening Day roster?
“I think he will be there," Mike Krukow declared on KNBR 680 on Tuesday morning. "I've always loved the guy. I've loved him for all the things that he does on and off the field. He's just a good solid citizen.
"This would be a significant chance for him because when he left the Phillies and he went to the Dodgers, he was in his own mind an everyday player. Even last year when he signed with the White Sox, in his mind he was an everyday player. Well now he knows by taking this offer from the Giants that it's not gonna be for an everyday role.
"When you come to that conclusion as a player that your role has changed and you're no longer an everyday player, you start to learn how to do it. You start to learn how to be a bench player. I think that this guy has a lot to give baseball and a lot to give a team still.
"And it's the kind of player that you want if your team has basically declared it has a chance to win, which the Giants have done, certainly by adding Melancon.
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"When you bring in Jimmy Rollins -- that's a component that they haven’t really had in the last several years. That’s a real veteran who can come off the bench late and help. I like the add.
"It’s just a matter of can he make the team and I don’t have any doubt that he can. So I'm anticipating that in April he’s gonna be there and he’s gonna be a big part of this 2017 Giants team.”
Rollins appeared in only 41 games with the White Sox last season, after hitting .221 over 144 appearances for the Dodgers in 2015.
In 2007, Rollins hit .296 with 30 home runs and 94 RBI en route to claiming the NL MVP.
He will be competing against Kelby Tomlinson and Ehire Adrianza for a roster spot.
"You're definitely gonna keep one of the two," Krukow said. "The pressure put on Adrianza and Tomlinson, well as it should be. Adrianza is a switch-hitting guy; he always seems to get a little bit better. But I don't know.
"If you go straight up, who's the better guy? Do you take Tomlinson? He's got a lot to offer, plus he's been pretty clutch. Some of the at-bats that he's given the Giants in his young career, he's been a guy that's made a difference. I can't say that about Adrianza's at-bats.
"So there's gonna be big-time competition for it and may the best man win."
