Will the Phillies Replace Jimmy Rollins this Off-Season?

Let's forget practicality for a second.

Say Ken Rosenthal's report on FOXSports.com, that the Indians will reportedly look into every roster move conceivable, is more than an assumption that the Terry Francona regime will do what most new regimes do.

Say, despite armfuls of reports about his salary being prohibitive at this year's trade deadline, there'd be a taker for Jimmy Rollins before the 2013 season -- and that Ruben Amaro and Charlie Manuel would be OK with being givers.

How wouldn't this make sense?

First, there's the green. Rollins, 33, is due $11 million every year until his contract expires in 2015. Asdrubal Cabrera, 28, is due a combined $16.5 million over the next two seasons.

Then, there's the production. Compare their offensive numbers since 2007, when Cabrera entered the league.

Year	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	162	716	139	212	38	20	30	94	41	6	49	85	0.296	0.344	0.531	0.875
2008	137	556	76	154	38	9	11	59	47	3	58	55	0.277	0.349	0.437	0.786
2009	155	672	100	168	43	5	21	77	31	8	44	70	0.25	0.296	0.423	0.719
2010	88	350	48	85	16	3	8	41	17	1	40	32	0.243	0.32	0.374	0.694
2011	142	567	87	152	22	2	16	63	30	8	58	59	0.268	0.338	0.399	0.736
2012	156	632	102	158	33	5	23	68	30	5	62	96	0.25	0.316	0.427	0.743

Year	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	45	159	30	45	9	2	3	22	0	0	17	29	0.283	0.354	0.421	0.775
2008	114	352	48	91	20	0	6	47	4	4	46	77	0.259	0.346	0.366	0.713
2009	131	523	81	161	42	4	6	68	17	4	44	89	0.308	0.361	0.438	0.799
2010	97	381	39	105	16	1	3	29	6	4	25	60	0.276	0.326	0.346	0.673
2011	151	604	87	165	32	3	25	92	17	5	44	119	0.273	0.332	0.46	0.792
2012	143	555	70	150	35	1	16	68	9	4	52	99	0.27	0.338	0.423	0.762

Who's who? (Consider the home run numbers and games played in Rollins MVP season dead giveaways...)

Huge advantage for Rollins in the field; Cabrera finished 17th among MLB shortstops this year in fielding percentage while Rollins won a Gold Glove. But for how long? Rollins fielding measures were among the worst of his career, even if they were best among a sorry NL crop.

As for the "chemistry" thing, I think the Phillies would be live.

In theory, Cabrera could be a perfect substitute -- and preempt Rollins presumed decline.