Jonah Birenbaum and Brandon Wile of the Score reported that the Braves are in trade talks with several ball clubs regarding their two-time Gold Glove Shortstop, Andrelton Simmons. The 26 year old, though not necessarily known for his offense, is considered to be among the top defensive infield assets in the Major Leagues. Simmons offensively this season was considered mediocre, however since becoming a full-time Major Leaguer he leads the majors with 94 defensive runs saved. The runner up to Simmons would be Jason Heyward who has a whole 25 runs saved less. Simmons was a second round pick in the 2010 draft. While Simmons did not win a third Gold Glove this season, he did win the 2015 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award. Simmons is due to make $53 million over the next five years after making $6 million this year. The ending of the 2015 season marked the end of only the second year of his seven year extension he signed with Atlanta.
The San Diego Pardres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels were a few teams reportedly interested in the young Shortstop. The Padres are in the market for a good defensive Shortstop after their duo of Alexi Amarista and Clint Barnes totaled a minus-0.8 WAR (wins above replacement) in 2015. The Dodgers are ready to start their rookie shortstop Corey Seager, however if they could land Simmons they would simply attempt to move the rookie to third-base. The Angels’ Erick Aybar is entering the last year of his contract with the Angels, which opens up a potential need for their ball club.
The report drawing the most attention thus far has come from Greg Warren of the Score who reports the Mets inquired about Simmons. The Braves reportedly asked for either Matt Harvey, or Jacob DeGrom which did not seem to appease the Mets. Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson stated earlier in the month that he has no plans to separate any of his young starting pitchers from the Met rotation. Alderson mentioned he had no interest in trading one of his young arm’s even to help the bolster the Mets’ offense which was discussed as a priority for the ball club along with the bullpen. The request for one of the two pitchers, ended the trade talks regarding Simmons between the two clubs. DeGrom was also a winner of the 2015 Wilson Defensive Player Award for his position.
