UPDATE (11:30 P.M. ET): The deal is now official. The Braves will get the Angels’ top two pitching prospects, shortstop Erick Aybar and $2.5 million in exchange for Andrelton Simmons and a catching prospect.
ORIGINAL POST: Two-time Gold Glove winner and 2015 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Andrelton Simmons is on the move.
The Atlanta Braves traded the 26-year-old shortstop to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, according to multiple reports. The Braves will get shortstop Erick Aybar, about $3 million and the Angels’ top two pitching prospects, Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis, in return, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. Los Angeles also will receive catching prospect Jose Briceno in the deal from Atlanta, a source told Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown.
Simmons has had his ups and downs at the plate in parts of four seasons with the Braves, but he is regarded as one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. He is under contract until 2020.
Newcomb is a Massachusetts native and attended Middleboro High School and the University of Hartford.
Thumbnail photo via Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports Images
