Braves trade Andrelton Simmons to the Angels for Erick Aybar, two pitching

Someone done went and set the hot stove ablaze.

“Obviously that”™s a big factor, whether he”™s back or not” Ricco said on the final day of the annual general managers”™ meetings. The Braves have traded Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels in a deal for shortstop Erick Aybar and pitching prospects Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis, in a deal announced Thursday, November 12.

Aybar has been the Angels’ starting shortstop since 2008 and a key player in Anaheim for a decade, making the AL All-Star team in 2014 while batting.

So, what does this deal do for both teams? They were able to leak the news that Simmons was on the table to other clubs, the media and the fans to gauge the reaction, the interest, and how far teams were willing to go to get Simmons. He just won the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award and is indisputably one of, if not the, best fielders in baseball. Last year, his DRS was 25. And Aybar had -3 DRS at shortstop each of the last two years. He hit 26 homers last season. He will become a free agent next winter. If he happens to produce a little more offensively, then that would be all the better for the Angels.

Simmons is the latest established player Atlanta has traded over the past year. In those 136 innings, he struck out 168, walked 76, and allowed five home runs. He averaged double-digit strikeout-per-nine tallies as well, though his composite 5.0 BB/9 walk rate shows that he’s still in need of polishing. He came into the season as the 70th best prospect in all of baseball, according to Baseball America. Now to be fair, the number-two prospect in the Angels system is akin to the fifth or sixth guy in another organization’s system. So this is not a stud Atlanta is getting back – at least not yet.

With moving Simmons, the Braves get two top pitching prospects and a shortstop they can move in 2016 if they choose to. 256 hitter in Simmons. And even though they’ll be free of Aybar’s -1.27 nERD, Simmons’ was not a whole lot better, at -0.89. Over the course of the 2015 season, the 22-year-old southpaw climbed from Class A to Double-A, producing excellent run prevention numbers along the way. Simmons is now under contract with the Angels through the 2020 season. Can anyone still explain the point of signing a mid-30s, declining outfielder to a team that is in rebuild mode?

Obviously, Atlanta wanted Newcomb.

Luckily, Atlanta has time for him to develop, and there are those who think he can be a second or third starter. Motivations, realities and ancillary necessities can make it so; therefore, there’s no such thing as untouchable and no one is irreplaceable. BA editor-in-chief John Manuel said the publication would move Newcomb to the No. 1 spot on the Braves’ prospect list, ahead of left fielder/third baseman Hector Olivera and pitcher Lucas Sims. Even though a few scouts don’t like him now, that high strikeout rate and his production in the minors is encouraging.

Taking a look at the Major League Baseball players exchanged in this deal, Aybar and Simmons are similar players, except Simmons is younger and players a cleaner defense. In 2015, Newcomb pitched to 2.38 ERA across three levels, including Double-A.