Fantasy Fallout: Andrelton Simmons Traded to the Angels
By Bill Pivetz
Things are starting to heat up in the baseball offseason. The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels completed the second trade of the offseason. The Angels acquired shortstop Andrelton Simmons in exchange for Erick Aybar and two pitching prospects. The focus of this trade is Simmons moving to the west coast, so let’s see how this trade impacts the fantasy baseball season for 2016.
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Simmons has been in the league for just four years, but he’s made a big impact in that time. His breakout season came in his sophomore year in 2013. He hit 17 home runs and 59 RBI in 157 games that year. While his batting average was a little low, .248, his 150 hits were good for ninth among shortstops.
This past season, Andrelton Simmons played in 147 games, hit four home runs, 44 RBI and a .265 batting average. The numbers are good, not great, but Simmons’ biggest contribution comes on the field.
Simmons is a great defensive shortstop. He has a career .983 fielding percentage. He had just eight errors all of last season, good for 28th among all qualified shortstops. His .988 fielding percentage in 2015 was the second-highest, .05 points behind J.J. Hardy.
According to ESPN Stats and Info Twitter account, Andrelton Simmons leads the league with 113 defensive runs saves since 2012. This bodes well for the Angels starting pitchers, especially the ground-ball pitcher Garrett Richards. Having a player who has a wide fielding range can make a difference throughout the season.
Andrelton Simmons is not the best hitting shortstop, he finished 31st among shortstops and 359th overall on the Player Rater. However, with the move to Los Angeles, Simmons has a better chance to get on base and score some runs. The Braves surely didn’t have players at the caliber of Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.
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Simmons is a top-20 shortstop, but is a middle-infield flex play at best in standard leagues.
Another piece of this trade was Aybar going to Atlanta. He’s been on a decline over the past couple of seasons. He has less power that Simmons and worse defensive option with 17 errors last season. I would stay away from him at all costs. This move also hurts the value a bit of the Braves pitchers.
This trade is a step up from the one from last week, but still doesn’t include a big name. Andrelton Simmons is a great defensive player, but won’t provide the Angels with the eye-popping numbers they need from a middle infielder.