Cubs closing in on free-agent shortstop Andrelton Simmons

[David]

i feel like i'm taking crazy pills

 

$4m is cheap for even a backup glove first infielder. we gave henry blanco barely than this to be a backup like 15+ years ago for crying out loud.

 

this isn't someone you'd even think was signed to start if you didn't know he's never been a backup (undeservedly as his last two seasons show)

[Transmogrified Tiger]

i feel like i'm taking crazy pills

 

$4m is cheap for even a backup glove first infielder. we gave henry blanco barely than this to be a backup like 15+ years ago for crying out loud.

 

this isn't someone you'd even think was signed to start if you didn't know he's never been a backup (undeservedly as his last two seasons show)

 

I'm generally with you, especially having double checked and seeing that both DRS and Statcast loved Andrelton defensively last year. However I do understand that there's roster math to contend with that makes us re-evaluate our priors about who has a firm grip on the roster. With so many(seriously, so so many) guys who could be anywhere from 500 PA to not making the opening day roster, it is a little unmooring to have your previous expectation shifted, especially since we just went 3+ months of ignoring/forgetting with the lockout.

[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.

 

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.

 

I sure hope so. I hope we're really far along with Correa, and he gave the thumbs up to sliding over to 3B on Stroman days. Those days we'll have an all-galaxy infield defense, and otherwise Simmons is just a standard backup. I've been vocal about us needing two left side infielders, so hopefully this is just an unexpected way of getting there.

 

Occam's Razor though is pretty clearly Hoerner and Simmons splitting SS, probably Andrelton on Stroman and Miley days plus against some lefties.

[NewUserName]

I think this signing sucked without me coming in here and reading the smart guy takes on this

[Backtobanks]

i feel like i'm taking crazy pills

 

$4m is cheap for even a backup glove first infielder. we gave henry blanco barely than this to be a backup like 15+ years ago for crying out loud.

 

this isn't someone you'd even think was signed to start if you didn't know he's never been a backup (undeservedly as his last two seasons show)

 

Why spend $4 million on a backup SS when you have Hoerner and Alcantra making league minimum? This sounds like another "we didn't trade Darvish for financial reasons" and "signing Gomes doesn't mean we're trading Contreras" statement.

[weis21]

i feel like i'm taking crazy pills

 

$4m is cheap for even a backup glove first infielder. we gave henry blanco barely than this to be a backup like 15+ years ago for crying out loud.

 

this isn't someone you'd even think was signed to start if you didn't know he's never been a backup (undeservedly as his last two seasons show)

 

Why spend $4 million on a backup SS when you have Hoerner and Alcantra making league minimum? This sounds like another "we didn't trade Darvish for financial reasons" and "signing Gomes doesn't mean we're trading Contreras" statement.

Because 4 MM is not a lot of money in MLB terms (as David has already stated). It's nothing and throwaway money. And you do remember that the Cubs already spent big on Marcus Stroman right before the lockout, correct?

[CubinNY]

i feel like i'm taking crazy pills

 

$4m is cheap for even a backup glove first infielder. we gave henry blanco barely than this to be a backup like 15+ years ago for crying out loud.

 

this isn't someone you'd even think was signed to start if you didn't know he's never been a backup (undeservedly as his last two seasons show)

 

Why spend $4 million on a backup SS when you have Hoerner and Alcantra making league minimum? This sounds like another "we didn't trade Darvish for financial reasons" and "signing Gomes doesn't mean we're trading Contreras" statement.

Because 4 MM is not a lot of money in MLB terms (as David has already stated). It's nothing and throwaway money. And you do remember that the Cubs already spent big on Marcus Stroman right before the lockout, correct?

There are a hell of a lot of better directions to throw $4M. This is a smart dumb thing or a dumb smart thing whichever way you want to look at it. Get the backup plan in place first.

[ChiCubsFan]

I’m starting to come around on a glove first backup SS with how many ground balls we’ll be inducing and the proposition of signing and letting Correa DH once a week or something.

[Tryptamine]

With as often as Correa and Nico are off the field I can get behind this signing, if and only if, it's as a back up. If your opening day SS is Simmons, then that means it's probably another season where I watch very few games. I can see this being a pretty good move if Nico is traded or your opening day CFer. Edited March 12, 2022 by Tryptamine

[Backtobanks]

 

Why spend $4 million on a backup SS when you have Hoerner and Alcantra making league minimum? This sounds like another "we didn't trade Darvish for financial reasons" and "signing Gomes doesn't mean we're trading Contreras" statement.

Because 4 MM is not a lot of money in MLB terms (as David has already stated). It's nothing and throwaway money. And you do remember that the Cubs already spent big on Marcus Stroman right before the lockout, correct?

There are a hell of a lot of better directions to throw $4M. This is a smart dumb thing or a dumb smart thing whichever way you want to look at it. Get the backup plan in place first.

 

Assuming Simmons is going to be the backup and not the starter.

[squally1313]

To be fair, I also don’t like this because he sucks as a person.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Between Simmons and (rumored) Rizzo, are anti-vac'rs the new market efficiency?