Atlanta Braves Trade for Shortstop and Two Top Angels Prospects

The Atlanta Braves have dealt Andrelton Simmons a shortstop to the Los Angeles Angels for Erick Aybar a shortstop, Sean Newcombe a Double-A left-handed pitcher and Chris Ellis a Double-A right-hander.

The 2013 Braves dismantling is nearly complete with the trade on Thursday by the Braves of their two-time Gold Glover to the Angels.

Anyone need Freddie Freeman, as he is about all that is left from that team.

It seemed the Braves were given a big no by the Mets when they attempted to acquire Jacob deGrom or Matt Harvey, so they settled for the two top prospects for the Angels and their current shortstop Aybar.

Newcombe is the biggest player in the deal. Not only is he talented but he is 6-foot-5. He was recruited in high school to play tight end but was the No. 15 pick in the draft of 2014 after playing baseball at the University of Hartford.

Ellis is no slouch either at 6-foot-4. The right-hander was picked in the third round in 2014 from Ole Miss.

Newcombe has a big fastball as a southpaw and recorded 168 strikeouts in 136 innings. He gave up only 97 hits while walking 76 batters.

If his control can be better refined, he could move quicker up to the Big Leagues.

The 2013 Atlanta Braves were winners of 96 games. The team was one of the league’s youngest, but looking at the Braves now the organization must be disappointed and a huge let down for fans of the Braves.

In 2015, the worst offense in baseball was Atlanta, but the team has spent much of the past year acquiring talented pitching.

Shelby Miller pitched well in his first season over from St. Louis, Julio Teheran did not have such a good season and Manny Banuelos, Matt Wisler and Mike Foltynewicz were unimpressive  most of their rookie seasons.

Ellis and Newcomb will now join prospects like Touki Toussiant, Max Frie, Kolby Allard and Lucas Sims as possible starters in the rotation for the future.

However, the team’s offense remains a mess, as Freeman can be considered the only player on the roster of 40 players who could be considered someone to build a team around.

Therefore, for the Braves to feel the offseason is successful they need to start signing big free agent bats, such as Chris Davis, or trade for big bats. Otherwise, the Braves continue having the league’s worst offense without a stellar pitching staff to offset its lack of offensive production.