TAMPA – The Braves reached a seven-year, $57 million deal with shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Some thoughts:
1. It is great to have a new stadium coming if you are the Braves. Atlanta has been trapped with one of the worst local TV deals in the sport. The organization needed a way to infuse more cash into the operation or risk developing a terrific core and then having it disappear. Then, a few weeks back, the Braves announced they have a new stadium opening in Cobb County in 2017 and, voila, they have gotten into the business of locking up their homegrown stars long term.
Since that announcement, they have guaranteed $279.7 million for 27 seasons of Simmons, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel and Julio Teheran. The contract for Heyward only carries for the next two seasons, until he is a free agent, and the sense in the industry is Atlanta will not look to go beyond that with Heyward – at least not any time soon. Instead, the Braves still might try to lock up starters such as Mike Minor and Kris Medlen.
For now, though, they have assured Freeman, Kimbrel, Simmons and Teheran will be with the organization going into the new facility. A month ago, the only Brave signed in 2017 was B.J. Upton, neither homegrown nor a success story.
This gives continuity to an organization for which it truly mattes. The Braves also this week extended the contracts of GM Frank Wren and manager Fredi Gonzalez. Remember, this franchise was run by GM John Schuerholz and Bobby Cox throughout its fantastic playoff run, so stability and projecting that to the fan base is huge.
2. Quite frankly, I think the Simmons deal is a great sign by the Braves. If Simmons does not improve one iota, he is going to honor that contract.
After all, he is just 24. In 2013, his first full season, he established himself as not only the best defensive shortstop in the game, but arguably the best defensive player in the sport. Atlanta was concerned about his .296 on-base percentage, but you probably could add 20 or 30 points to that in offense stolen from the other team.
Plus, he hit 17 homers, the fifth most by any shortstop.
So if he just stays an elite defender with power from a non-traditional power position, his value is great. Heck, he finished 14th in the MVP balloting last year.
But if there is some offensive improvement, well, he becomes a perennial top-10 MVP candidate. Say he gets to 25 or even 30 homers per year as he fills out and learns the league pitching better and/or becomes even a .325 on-base man. Both seem within reason.
And that was one of the many hurdles to overcome in doing this contract for the Braves and Simmons’ agent.
Historically, defense does not pay big bucks. Offense does. In Simmons’ case, you have to project and guess on some of the offense. Further complicating matters was that Simmons has one year and 125 days of service time. It means after this season he would be right around the borderline for which players qualify for Super Two distinction and are eligible for arbitration. A player on the wrong side of that border would make roughly the minimum wage of $500,000. As a Super Two, Simmons would have been in the $2.5 million-$3 million range.
The compromise in this deal was Atlanta essentially treated Simmons like he would be arbitration-eligible – giving him $1 million this year and $3 million next year – and in exchange the salaries stay in reasonable ranges moving forward, never growing beyond $15 million in the final season of 2020.
3. And just an aside to Mets fans: This group of signings by the Braves suggests they are going to stay a strong team in the NL East for a while. It was not long ago, for example, it was believed Atlanta never would have cost certainty with Kimbrel and would have to trade him.
Now, the Braves move forward knowing they have not only the best closer in the majors locked up, but their best hitter (Freeman), best fielder (Simmons) and a strong young starter (Teheran).