Eppler traded the second longest tenured Angel, shortstop Erick Aybar, to the Atlanta Braves along with top pitching prospects Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis. The Angels will receive catching prospect Jose Briceno as well.
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They’re not concerned with winning games next year (as this move proves), and Aybar is someone who will either play the position for just one year or will be flipped this offseason to a shortstop-needy team, perhaps like the NY Mets. It’s true whether you like traditional stats (.265 average, .321 OBP, .338 slugging, four homers, 44 RBIs, five stolen bases) or modern ones (82 wRC+, 86 OPS+,.290 wOBA).
Of course, the Braves also received Aybar to fill the role at shortstop, although he is only under contract for the 2016 season.
Either way, while this trade is riskier overall for the Braves, it doesn’t benefit the Angels as much as one might think. Aybar should be an upgrade offensively over Simmons, no small consideration given Atlanta’s feeble offense.
While I wouldn’t have dealt Matz for Simmons, it can be argued that Newcomb (a big lefty with a plus fastball and considerable upside) is comparable to Matz. Or do they flip Aybar and sign another shortstop? To put Simmons’ defensive prowess in perspective, the Angels tweeted out the following stat on the 26-year-old’s 2013 campaign.
Simmons has five years left on a contract that will pay him $53-million, an entirely reasonable contract for a the best defensive shortstop playing in his prime years.
Not only that, Anaheim’s farm system was already ridiculously thin, and now with their two best prospects gone, it is undoubtedly the worst in Major League Baseball. This is also a risk, but as stated, while they are quite promising neither Newcomb nor Ellis are sure things while Simmons has proven current value. The Braves have one of the most well educated front offices in the game. He’ll hit free agency at the end of 2016. Maybe the Braves will use a few of their freed-up payroll to sign or trade for a slugger before or during the 2016 season, and use their stockpile of pitching to plug a hole.
The Braves traded one of their top positional talents yesterday for more pitching prospects. In other words, they cashed in their two best trade chips to address a position that didn’t need to be addressed yet.
Simmons handled curveballs, sliders and changeups adeptly from 2012-13, slugging more than 30 points (.438) above the Major League Baseball average (.405).
There’s clearly a lot to like about Albies, but I keep getting pulled back to his age. That makes Rasmus the first player to ever accept the QO – there were 34 such offers in the first three years of the system, and all 34 were rejected.
Brosius, an 11-year major league veteran with Oakland and the NY Yankees, spent the past eight seasons as the coach of Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, where Brosius played before embarking on his professional career. 423 slugging percentage in seven seasons, with 100 homers, 371 RBIs and two Gold Gloves.
Atlanta also gets $2.5 million, which covers part of the $53 million Simmons is owed through 2020.
Angels center fielder Mike Trout picked up his fourth Silver Slugger Award in four seasons Thursday, earning the honor after a season in which he hit a career-high 41 home runs and had an American League-best. He didn’t have outstanding stats in his 2015 season, posting a 3.79 FIP at High-A and a 4.98 FIP at Double-A.
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Ellis was 11-9 with a 3.90 ERA in 26 starts last season in high Single-A and Double-A, and totaled 132 strikeouts and 63 walks in 1402/3 innings.
