According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have acquired shortstop Andrelton Simmons and catching prospect Jose Briceno from the Braves in exchange for pitching prospects Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis, as well as veteran shortstop Erick Aybar.
Simmons, 26, is arguably the best defensive shortstop in the game right now, and is still under control through the 2020 season on a very lucrative deal.
A career .256/.304/.362 hitter, Simmons’ real value comes in the field. However, the young shortstop possesses a very high ceiling and is entering his prime years, so a progression at the plate is a realistic possibility.
Simmons is a two-time Gold Glove winner and has a career 15.2 dWAR over the past four seasons.
The Mets had inquired about Simmons recently, but the Braves wanted either star pitchers Jacob deGrom or Matt Harvey in return, which the team refused to agree to, and understandably so.
It was reported earlier that the Braves were discussing trading the shortstop with a team from the West, and the domino has finally fell, as Simmons will take his talents to Los Angeles.
Also heading to the Angels in the deal is catching prospect Jose Briceno.
Briceno. 23, ranked as the #25 prospect for the Braves according to MLB.com. However, the young catcher only managed to hit at a .183/.215/.267 clip this season at High-A in 88 games.
In return for Simmons, the Braves are getting back promising young pitchers Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis from the Angels.
The two pitchers ranked as the Angels’ number one and two prospects respectively, as well as Newcomb coming in at the nineteenth top prospect league wide.
Newcomb, 22, was drafted fifteenth overall in the 2014 first year player draft by the Angels out of the University of Hartford.
The young lefty reached as high as AA this past season, and pitched to a 9-3 record, with a 2.38 ERA as well as a 11.1 K/9 cumulatively at all levels.
Ellis, 23, was drafted in the third round of the 2014 first year player draft by the Angels out of the University of Mississippi.
A righty, Ellis split his season in 2015 between High-A and AA, and pitched to a 11-9 record with a 3.90 ERA as well as a 8.4 K/9.
It is apparent that the Braves are taking a similar approach to the Mets and are building their future on the foundation of promising young arms.
Also in the trade heading to Atlanta is veteran shortstop Erick Aybar, who has spent the entirety of his career with the Halo’s since making his debut in 2006.
Aybar, 31, owns a career slash line of .276/.315/.378 and will immediately slot in to the starting shortstop role for the Braves.
Aybar is projected to work as a stop gap for prospect Ozhaino Albies, who – though being a few years away – is progressing quickly through Atlanta’s system, and is viewed as the future shortstop for the Braves.
Well, as much as I would have loved to have Simmons patrolling the left side of the infield for the Mets, it was crystal clear that the Braves were not going to trade the shortstop to a division rival.
It’ll be nice to have Simmons out of the equation for Atlanta this year, as it seemed that Simmons always killed the Mets when we played them.
Oh, and more importantly no more of his spectacular defense against us. 🙂
