Philadelphia Phillies linked by rumor to Andrelton Simmons

As the hot stove season started to warm principally for that team in the Bronx, at least one report late in the day Jan. 25 should get some notice among fans of the Philadelphia Phillies. Long-time media fixture in the city, Howard Eskin, tweeted that the Fightin’s are looking seriously at Andrelton Simmons.

Quoth the reporter-commentator dubbed by some “The King”: “Sources have told me #Phillies have serious interest in Free agent #Angels SS Andrelton Simmons. Phils want player to sign 1 year deal with infield questions at SS and 2nd base. Simmons would fill one void.”

How interested are the Phillies in Andrelton Simmons?

This was met on the platform on which it originated with some immediate cynical feedback and many, many doubts (about many things), but hey, it’s Philly, the Eagles season was horrid, and again – Philly.

One nearly immediate reply probably is a good representation of many of the responses: “Floating a leaked story to help Phils management get some artificial leverage on Didi? On brand for you. Did they offer you a jacket, or a signed baseball? [smacking my forehead emoji]”

So, yeah, this is definitely a “sources say” report, but when you get down to it, is it the worst idea? Indeed, it is even the worst idea to employ Eskin to create leverage on Didi Gregorius? (Damn, that’s two worst ideas, right?)

If you’ve misread my tone, or missed some of my recent pieces, Phillies fans are annoyed with the slowly rebuilding, very disappointing Phillies performance this off-season.

If Simmons is available, right now, he isn’t a bad choice at all for one or even two years.

In nine years, he has posted a 36.8 WAR, and won four Gold Gloves, the most recent in 2018. In the shortened 2020 campaign he hit .297, his highest seasonal mark. This really only means he got out of the blocks quickly, and moved well down the straightaway that was last summer’s MLB show, but hey, everybody had to sprint last year, and some definitely didn’t hit .297.

Entering his age-31 season, Simmons is an accomplished veteran – a tall, modern shortstop with excellent range who hasn’t struck out more than 67 times in a season. For his career he is seven points above the league average in fielding, and 35 points above the league average in Range Factor per 9 Innings (RF/9).

And lest anyone think Phillies fans simply carp about things, a fair number of early reactions to Eskins’ report about a possible signing of Simmons were fairly positive, as they should be.