Philadelphia Phillies: Andrelton Simmons makes sense on a one-year deal

The Philadelphia Phillies will not open the 2022 season with Javier Baez or Corey Seager at shortstop. It’s also unlikely they pay Carlos Correa the kind of money he’s looking for. As far the Trevor Story story goes, he also doesn’t feel all that likely.

It’s okay, though. Bryson Stott is on the way and until he does join the big league club, the Phillies only need a temporary solution at the position.

This leads us to a free agent on a different level than the names mentioned above, shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

The case for the Philadelphia Phillies to sign Andrelton Simmons.

Only a few years ago, the idea of signing Simmons would have been a much more exciting idea for the Phillies. He quickly gained a reputation as one of the league’s best defenders as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He carried over the success during his five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

A four-time Gold Glove winner, he’s a lifetime .265/.313/.369 hitter coming off of a poor year with the Minnesota Twins. Still only 32 with his next birthday coming in September, he’s a decent stopgap for the Phillies until Stott is ready.

Despite the declining bat, Simmons remains a top-level defender. He finished 2021 with a 2.3 WAR on defense and has continued to play some of the best shortstop in the game. There’s nothing to suggest this will change anytime soon. For a team like the Phillies that has struggled to find an answer at the position, Simmons seems to meet the criteria for a part of the game the club has ignored for far too long.

If the bullpen has been the club’s Achilles heel, the defense has been its funny bone. Hit it and the team feels the pain.

In the post-Jimmy Rollins days, the Phillies have started Freddy Galvis, J.P. Crawford, Jean Segura, and Didi Gregorius regularly at the position. Each has had his difficulties – some more than others. There have even been points during this stretch when the team has had to make it with unnatural shortstops at the position. In 2018, Asdrubal Cabrera came over from the New York Mets in a trade deadline move. A far better second baseman or third baseman, he never looked comfortable at the position. Who can forget all of those games with Scott Kingery trying to learn the position on the fly either? Yet another guy who had no business at shortstop, the Phillies have been floundering around for several seasons looking for something more permanent.

Simmons won’t give them this. One year, however, can bridge us to Stott.

The Phillies still have Gregorius under contract for another year but his declining defense and bat make him a candidate to play elsewhere. Simmons may not be able to hit much better than Gregorius. Fortunately, the runs he can save for an already excellent at times offense could make a major difference.

For far too long, defense has not been a strength of the team. Rather than define insanity, let’s not try the same thing over and over again and see if it works.