Cubs closing in on free-agent shortstop Andrelton Simmons

[mias_tisg]

[Transmogrified Tiger]

[The_Achiever]

Lame.

[mias_tisg]

[Ding Dong Johnson]

That would have been exciting 5 years ago.

[UMFan83]

That will help the infield defense If the Correa rumors are true, someone may be on their way out in the IF Edited March 11, 2022 by UMFan83

[Bertz]

Literally the worst on field choice amongs the shortstop options, and also a vocal anti-vaxxer

 

Horsefeathering Christ

[mias_tisg]

[sneakypower]

[attachment=0]20211201_185354.jpg[/attachment]

[Transmogrified Tiger]

ZiPS sees no difference between Simmons and Alcantara(who can hit LH) with the bat, and UZR sees no difference between them with the glove since the start of the pandemic. That...had better turn out to be incorrect.

[17 Seconds]

simmons is also an anti-vax [expletive] Edited March 11, 2022 by 17 Seconds

[UMFan83]

 

Phew

 

Seems like a good sign that he would go out of his way to say this.

[sneakypower]

 

Phew

 

Seems like a good sign that he would go out of his way to say this.

did you expect them to say, "yeah this is it for short, enjoy your gruel :D "

[CyHawk_Cub]

butwhy.gif

[littleburr24]

 

Phew

 

Seems like a good sign that he would go out of his way to say this.

did you expect them to say, "yeah this is it for short, enjoy your gruel :D "

 

Can you really blame us with PTR?

[ChiCubsFan]

Why Simmons if you also were to sign Correa? Nico and Alcantara can backup SS well enough.

[Bertz]

I'm all for "it's just a little airborne" rationalizing, but neither Simmons nor Correa has played an MLB game anywhere other than shortstop. If Jed was still signing Correa, and this was just to have a better defensive backup than Hoerner, they would have gone with Jose Iglesias or Jonathan Villar who could slide around the infield.

[UMFan83]

I'm all for "it's just a little airborne" rationalizing, but neither Simmons nor Correa has played an MLB game anywhere other than shortstop. If Jed was still signing Correa, and this was just to have a better defensive backup than Hoerner, they would have gone with Jose Iglesias or Jonathan Villar who could slide around the infield.

 

That was kind of my concern too. I haven't heard of either of them being open to a new position, and it wouldn't make sense to sign Simmons for a defensive boost if you planned on moving him to a new position.

[Backtobanks]

That would have been exciting 5 years ago.

 

Speaking of 5 years ago, after the lockout we have signed Simmons and Ross.

[Gilby]

That Rosenthal tweet is interesting and I guess Simmons could theoretically be an extreme glove first backup or part time 3B if/when Wisdom fails. Buuut it feels like he's the opening day SS

[CubinNY]

I’d prefer a new lockout.

[Post Count Padder]

I like this in a vacuum but here it's pretty lame. Probably ends up being the starter and yeah I forgot how anti vax he is. Ricketts probably love him.

[David]

I'm all for "it's just a little airborne" rationalizing, but neither Simmons nor Correa has played an MLB game anywhere other than shortstop. If Jed was still signing Correa, and this was just to have a better defensive backup than Hoerner, they would have gone with Jose Iglesias or Jonathan Villar who could slide around the infield.

 

he's making $4m a year, FFS. there's no reason to assume he's not a backup.

[David]

I like this in a vacuum but here it's pretty lame. Probably ends up being the starter and yeah I forgot how anti vax he is. Ricketts probably love him.

 

i highly doubt they've gone from negotiating with the top of market guy who wants hundreds of millions of dollars to, "welp, let's just sign this guy for $4M and watch him struggle to OPS .500 and plug him in everyday" with no in between.

 

i don't think it's even slightly going out on a limb to say he's not going to be the starter whether we sign correa or not.

Edited March 12, 2022 by David

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm all for "it's just a little airborne" rationalizing, but neither Simmons nor Correa has played an MLB game anywhere other than shortstop. If Jed was still signing Correa, and this was just to have a better defensive backup than Hoerner, they would have gone with Jose Iglesias or Jonathan Villar who could slide around the infield.

 

I'll preface this by saying that I don't think that signing both Simmons and Correa is a particularly neat fit, and the *best* interpretation would be that Hoyer doesn't think Correa is a lock, and desperately needs to guarantee that there's a true defensive SS on the roster(and doesn't rate Alcantara that way).

 

Having said that, I think you can come up with some reasons that don't shut the door on it even with the facts you're stating.

 

- Correa hasn't played another position, but he has missed his share of time to injury. Insuring against that is worthwhile and can even be a point in selling him("we're gonna keep you in the lineup more often by DHing you every week or two") if that resonates with his mindset.

- Simmons hasn't played another position because he's too good at the position he does play. It makes no sense to play an inferior defender there while both are in the lineup, so as a bench option his utility is in playing SS while others slide down the defensive spectrum. Admittedly Correa dilutes this benefit a bit, but if he's open to a handful of games at DH and/or 3B, great. Plus Correa isn't signed. But in any case, the idea that Villar(who I'd hesitate to call a SS or at least a better defender than Hoerner) or Iglesias(who has a worse defensive history than Simmons and hasn't played a different position in 9 years) have played other positions isn't a selling point in their favor.

- Simmons isn't exactly in a position to make big demands of his role. He's 32, coming off a sub-replacement season, made himself into a potential locker room distraction, and signed for backup catcher money. Even if the odds of him being the primary SS are only 10%, that's probably more potential playing time than he could bank on from other suitors.

- Simmons' skill balance is extra helpful on this team. While he is right handed when he does hit, we've talked before about this team really needing defensive strength to suck up the groundballs that Stroman/Hendricks/Miley are going to induce. You can make the argument that in a limited role he provides more benefit than a Villar or an Iglesias because his strengths are so maximized.