Mariners notes: Suspension over, David Rollins looks to concentrate on positives

OAKLAND, Calif. – A contrite David Rollins spent his first day in the big leagues Saturday after being activated by the Mariners prior to their game against Oakland.

Rollins, 25, had completed his 80-game suspension, levied March 27 after he testing positive for Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid that is often used by bodybuilders to build muscle mass.

“I had to do a lot of soul-searching,” said Rollins, a left-handed reliever acquired last December from Houston in the Rule 5 Draft.

“I had people on social media talking bad about me.

“I just can’t let that get to me. I’ve learned to really just block out all of the negative and look to the positive, and turn negatives into positives. I feel I’ve done real well with turning this big negative into a better positive.”

Rule 5 statutes required the Mariners to place Rollins on their 25-man roster once he completed his suspension or risk losing him.

The Mariners had no intention of losing him.

“He was a front-runner to make our club in spring training,” manager Lloyd McClendon said. “I don’t think there were any secrets.”

Rollins reinforced that view by making seven scoreless appearances at Triple-A Tacoma during a 16-day rehab period that is allotted to suspended players.

“He pitched extremely well,” McClendon said. “He was 93-96 (mph). He’s a power left-handed arm who we’re excited about and, hopefully, he’ll fit quite nicely into our bullpen.”

The Mariners cleared space for Rollins in a series of roster moves that also saw outfielder James Jones and reliever Mayckol Guaipe recalled from Tacoma.

The three replaced three pitchers – Roenis Elias, Tom Wilhelmsen and Vidal Nuno, who were optioned to Tacoma after Friday’s 9-5 victory over the Athletics.

Rollins marveled at finally reaching the big leagues when, just a few months ago, he wondered if he had blown his chance forever after being so close to winning a job.

“For about a week,” he admitted, “it was, ‘Man, what am I doing?’ I could have possibly ruined the rest of my career. I could be getting sent home and not being able to play baseball ever again.

“I mean, I thought about that all of the time. It just got to the point where I was like, ‘I’ve just got to look past it and move forward.’ It’s been a long ride, and it’s nice to have it paying off.”

Rollins made his debut Saturday by pitching a scoreless eighth inning in a 2-0 loss to the Athletics.

“The first time is definitely one that I’ll remember forever,” he said.