The rebuilding Atlanta Braves and the dormant Los Angeles Angels found each other Thursday, and as a result shortstop Andrelton Simmons is headed west in a trade that will bring the Braves veteran shortstop Erick Aybar and the Angels’ top two pitching prospects.
Simmons is the best defensive shortstop in baseball and, at 26, is under contract through 2020 for another $53 million. He also, last season, was more productive offensively than Aybar, who has a year and $8.5 million remaining on his contract.
The real gain for the Braves is in the pitchers. Sean Newcomb, 22, is a 6-foot-5 left-hander who many believed was the Angels’ ace of the future. The previous regime in Anaheim – first Jerry Dipoto and in the weeks leading to the recent trading deadline Bill Stoneman and Matt Klentak – frequently spurned offers for Newcomb in spite of deficits on the big-league roster that resulted in a third-place finish in the AL West. The other is Chris Ellis, a 23-year-old, 6-foot-4 right-hander.
In the 2014 draft, the Angels selected Newcomb in the first round and Ellis in the third. They both reached Double-A in 2015. Newcomb, in A, high-A and Double-A, had a 2.38 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 136 innings. Ellis had 132 strikeouts and a 3.90 ERA in 140 2/3 innings in high-A and Double-A.
The Angels sent the Braves $2.5 million to cover roughly the difference between the salaries of Simmons and Aybar in 2016. The Angels also received minor-league catcher Jose Briceno in the trade.
In essence, the Angels, who didn’t yet require a shortstop, acquired a better and younger shortstop, perhaps at the cost of who would pitch for them in 2017. The Braves, who had an excellent young shortstop under control for another five years and who could have been part of their return to relevance, sacrificed him to continue their stockpiling of pitching, likely with an eye on 2017, when they will open a new ballpark north of Atlanta.
It is the Angels’ first significant move under new general manager Billy Eppler, hired early last month after Dipoto quit three months earlier. By the time Newcomb and Ellis surface in Atlanta, it is possible the Angels’ rotation will consist of Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, Tyler Skaggs, Nick Tropeano and a pitcher from among Hector Santiago, Matt Shoemaker and/or this winter’s strong free-agent class. Jered Weaver will be a free agent after 2016.
Three days before Eppler was hired in Anaheim, the Braves promoted John Coppolella to general manager. John Hart and Coppolella have pushed an agenda of young pitching in an organization that had grown thin in that area. The additions of Newcomb and Ellis, granted at the high price of Simmons, continued that plan.
While well regarded defensively, Simmons has not developed as many believed he would in the batter’s box. A free swinger who rarely walks or strikes out, Simmons hit 17 home runs in 2013 and 11 in nearly 1,100 at-bats since. His career batting average is .256, his on-base percentage .304. He is, now, an up-the-middle defender with whom the Angels will retool, in an offseason in which the priorities appeared to be left field, third base, bullpen and starting pitching.
The Braves could in turn trade Aybar, who turns 32 in January. He remains a good defensive shortstop, but suffered a down year offensively in 2015. Given they shopped Simmons in recent weeks, the Braves have a full understanding of who seeks help at the position.
No comments:
Post a Comment