Should the Angels extend Andrelton Simmons?

Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons will be a free agent after the 2020 season, but should the team consider extending his contract?

The first of June is right around the corner, a time when the dog days of summer usually separate the contenders from the pretenders in Major League Baseball. Instead, we continue to wait and see if baseball will survive both Coronavirus and labor strife brought on by the shrinking revenues caused by the delays. But even as we await an indication of what will happen to 2020, we still need to look ahead to what may become of the team after the season, and that includes the fate of Andrelton Simmons.

Regardless of if the season is played or not, contract years will still accrue for MLB players. That means that those players that were originally slated for free agency upon completion of the 2020 season will still be ticketed to be hot stove fodder when winter hits. Simmons, is in the final year of a 7-year, $58 million deal he signed with the Atlanta Braves prior to the 2014 season. The Braves traded him to the Angels in November 2015.

That deal has proved to be club-friendly for the Halos. According to FanGraphs, Simmons has ultimately been worth $118.4 million against the $38 million the Angels have paid him over the last four seasons. Now entering the fifth and final season of his current contract with Anaheim, the Angels must decide whether or not to extend Simmons now or let him test the open market.

The Halos were said to be having internal discussions in regards to offering Simmons an extension as late as March of this year, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.  It was something the player himself was said to be in favor of a year prior. However, those discussions, like everything else, have been put on hold by the virus and the ensuing negotiation freeze agreed to by both Major League Baseball and the Players’ Association.

While the team and Simmons cannot officially negotiate a new deal, we can certainly take a look at the situation and discuss the pros and cons of maintaining one of the best shortstops in baseball.