Atlanta Braves and The Trade
By Fred Owens
Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
When the Atlanta Braves traded Andrelton Simmons o the Angels there was an explosion of disbelief amongst fans. In the aftermath of chaos a look ahead,
Trading Simba
I said when the rumors started that trading Simmons was a bar public relations move unless they return was big. I was not alone in that. Before the trade happened David O’Brien opined muchthe same thing
That's what I'm saying. If return can't far surpass that of any of past year's #Braves deals, then shouldn't trade. https://t.co/rnPJl57HBv
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) November 12, 2015
The trade was made and the return did not surpass any of last year’s trades, for Simmons and a minor league catcher Jose Briceno the Braves received shortstop Erick Aybar, LHP Sean Newcomb and RHP Chris Ellis.
I’m not going to jump into analyzing the pitchers at this point except to say that if Newcomb can stop walking people while continuing to strike out 11 per nine innings he could make a nice top of the rotation starter. Ellis projects optimistically as a three but is more likely to be a four or five. Now about the shortstop we acquire and the spin we got immediately that made most folks do a double take.