*Photo from Halos Heaven*
People might just not want to hit to the left side of the Minnesota Twins infield from now on. The Twins and SS Andrelton Simmons are in agreement on a one year, $10.5 million deal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Simmons has long been a defense first player, who will no doubt upgrade the already stout left side of the infield, joining forces with gold glover Josh Donaldson at 3rd base. The Twins have confirmed the deal.
Simmons spent the Pandemic shortened season in 2020 with the Los Angeles Angels, posting a .297 average with a .702 OPS, hitting zero homers and driving in 10 runs in 30 games played for the Angels, opting out near the end of the season. In his 9 big league seasons, Simmons is a .269 hitter with a .606 OPS, hitting 67 homers and driving in 406 runs in 1,060 games played, spending time with the Angels as well as the Atlanta Braves.
The addition of Simmons leaves some positional shuffling for manager Rocco Baldelli. However, the more likely scenario is that current shortstop Jorge Polanco will slide over a spot and become the everyday second baseman, while Luis Arraez will likely become a utility player, a spot that was held by Marwin Gonzalez previously, who is currently a free agent. Arraez is no stranger to utility work, as he's had time at second, short, 3rd base, and left field in his short big league career.
Simmons has always been a better defender than a hitter, and despite the fact that he is merely passable as a hitter, his defensive accolades have filled up a trophy room. In his 9 seasons, he has a platinum glove award as well as 4 gold gloves, and his 191 defensive runs saved in his career are the highest of any qualified shortstop by a long margin, over double the total of the next closest.
The Twins have had a rather slow offseason, but have been a little busier lately, adding JA Happ and Simmons in the last month, joining Hansel Robles as new additions to the team this season.
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