Andrelton Simmons

[Glen]

...would be a great late-innings defensive specialist on a playoff team, or perhaps even a worthwhile starter on a team with an otherwise potent offense.  

[Torridd]

I would trade him before Escobar.

[ten ocho recon scout]

That was my take when we made the trade. Everyone was cheering, pointing out his WAR and age, ozzie smith comps, etc. But to me a guy like that only makes sense to a winning team that needs the final piece, a la OC going to boston back in the day.

We can marvel at his glove all day long, and it is amazing. But when a team cant pitch and canthit, it doesnt matter how much of a superfreak glove you have at one position, especially when said glove comes with no bat at all.

He switched leagues and missed some time. Hopefully he improves a bit. But hes batting 9th now ... for the angels...think about how bad you gotta be to get there...

[Troutstanding]

Defense is valuable for the entire game, not just the last inning.

[LooneyPlatoons]

Simmons is still adjusting to the pitching in a different league, compacted with spending half the season on the DL with a torn ligament in his thumb.  I think his offense will be better next season once he gets more aclimated to AL pitchers this year.  How much better is the question though.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I believe that people are being too impatient with his offense. He is facing a bunch of pitchers that he has few or no at-bats against, and his season was significantly interrupted. You don't spend substantial time on the DL and then just pick up where you left off.

[Ohtaniland]

I miss Pujols and Aybar chasing each other around like little kids in the park. Simmons and his solid defense is just no fun.

[Troll Daddy]

Keeper ..: great trade!

[bloodbrother]

1 hour ago, Torridd said:

I would trade him before Escobar.

That would make zero sense for the Angels. Trade the younger, better player who is under contract for 5 more years and keep the older, lesser player who is only under contract for 1 more year(assuming the team picks up his club option)?

[Chuck]

If you could get two young arms like Ellis and Newcomb back, make the trade. Aybar was a throw in. 

If not, keep him. 

[Oz27]

Defense is a valuable thing and Simmons has been a very valuable player throughout his career up to this year. But the trade was ludicrous for a team in our position and a sign the GM and management were either too naive or stupid to understand where the team was at.

[kevinb]

19 minutes ago, LooneyPlatoons said:

Simmons is still adjusting to the pitching in a different league, compacted with spending half the season on the DL with a torn ligament in his thumb.  I think his offense will be better next season once he gets more aclimated to AL pitchers this year.  How much better is the question though.

Didn't we say the same thing about Pujols

[Blarg]

4 minutes ago, Oz27 said:

Defense is a valuable thing and Simmons has been a very valuable player throughout his career up to this year. But the trade was ludicrous for a team in our position and a sign the GM and management were either too naive or stupid to understand where the team was at.

Eppler knew exactly where the team was at, a crossroads where they had no shortstop after this season. There was nothing in the Minors that would have been promoted, Marte was a trade to fill AAA with a backup.

The Angels have a surplus of cost controlled pitching but no one foresaw them all go down on the DL at the same time so playing the hindsight card is ridiculous. They had a huge hole to fill, Eppler did that with two guys that are at best two more years out. You must be too nave or stupid to not recognize how much the Angels needed Simmons.

[Erstad Grit]

9 minutes ago, Oz27 said:

Defense is a valuable thing and Simmons has been a very valuable player throughout his career up to this year. But the trade was ludicrous for a team in our position and a sign the GM and management were either too naive or stupid to understand where the team was at.

And how are Aybar and Newcomb doing? Aybar's career has basically ended and Newcomb is doing decent in AA in a Franchise that he should be nearing the MLB roster. Injuries aside Escobar and Simmons have been bright spots on this team that should remain here. 

Hopefully next year with Wilson, Smith, Weaver, etc coming off the books (and Hamilton 1 year left) Eppler will be provided with resources to round the team out. 

[Oz27]

3 minutes ago, Blarg said:

The Angels have a surplus of cost controlled pitching

lol wow. That's a pretty epic level of delusion.

Also this isn't hindsight. I said all of this at the time, even when Richards and Heaney were perfectly healthy.

[19HALO71]

You DO NOT get rid of Simmons. He's arguably the best defensive shortstop in the game. If other players were batting their career averages including himself, this wouldn't even be a discussion.

Go Halos!!!

[Oz27]

1 minute ago, Erstad Grit said:

And how are Aybar and Newcomb doing? Aybar's career has basically ended and Newcomb is doing decent in AA in a Franchise that he should be nearing the MLB roster. Injuries aside Escobar and Simmons have been bright spots on this team that should remain here. 

Hopefully next year with Wilson, Smith, Weaver, etc coming off the books (and Hamilton 1 year left) Eppler will be provided with resources to round the team out. 

Simmons has been a bright spot on this team? He has a .542 OPS.

[AngelArcher]

I get wanting to add a young player under contract to fill a position with no apparent heir. Lets face it though, 10mil/yr is not cheap for a defensive specialist who adds zero value offensively. Yes he is the best at his position defensively, but guys who are slightly not as good can be readily had for near minimum as stop gaps. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

21 minutes ago, Kevinb said:

Didn't we say the same thing about Pujols

Simmons wasn't 32 years old when he got here. He also wasn't touted mainly for his offensive production.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

4 minutes ago, calscuf said:

Simmons sucks.

Yeah, he shouldn't even be in the majors.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

4 minutes ago, calscuf said:

If you love Simmons so much, maybe you should marry him.

Very convincing argument. You really know your baseball.

[Erstad Grit]

Anyone watching games with Simmons should be able to see that he does things that are simply amazing. His value is his ability to catch/tag from the catcher, quickly release on ground balls, etc. He creates extra outs , removes baserunners, and saves runs. 

[Angel Oracle]

If we had any kind of solid starting pitching (outside of Shoe) and any kind of a solid bullpen, Simmons' value would be seen even more. 

[AngelsFaninGA]

I admittedly haven't watched too many games this season because of time zone differences, but how good actually is Simmons' defense? Because he's a complete nonfactor at the plate. He doesn't hit for average or power, he doesn't steal bases, and he doesn't get on base. He's gotta be saving a run a game to make up for his complete ineptitude with the bat. And it's not like he's gonna get much better. His batting average is around 30 points below his career avg, but everything else is in line with career norms.

My issue isn't that we gave up Newcomb for him, because Newcomb actually seems to be regressing and his walk rate is still awful. It's that we could have traded Newcomb for something much better than Mathis with a slightly better batting average.

[Erstad Grit]

5 minutes ago, AngelsFaninGA said:

I admittedly haven't watched too many games this season because of time zone differences, but how good actually is Simmons' defense?

Pretty damn good.....like best I've ever seen good.