Simmons-for-Aybar is not an improvement and certainly isn't a win-now move. That is obvious. I don't expect him to say, 'We know Aybar isn't Simmons, but we're trying to win 5 years from now.' But you can't say, 'Oh, deal with it and quit crying, you don't get it.'
You can say something like, 'We know the fan base loves Simmons, and this is always tough. We hated to have to trade him, but we feel like this move gives us a chance to continue to put a quality SS on the field while getting a potential future ace. I know losing is tough, and we're trying to fix that as well as we can, but we're going to do what it takes to build a long-lasting winner. It's tough to take right now, and we get that. Be patient, we do have a plan, and that plan is to acquire as much talent as we can.' That's not too much to ask.
Read between the lines what has been said about this deal by Copo. He has stated that the Braves want to sign Aybar to an extension. When the time comes to talk to him, if he's unwilling to deal, then he gets dealt. They are going to give him a chance to add a year or two (no more) to 2016, giving Albies a reasonable time frame to progress.
I don't understand why fans give a damn about the PR skills of their GM. If there ever was a position where a person should be evaluated based upon their results, that's the one.
CrimsonCowboy (11-19-2015), rico43 (11-19-2015), Tapate50 (11-19-2015)
Last edited by Runnin; 11-19-2015 at 04:42 AM.
clvclv (11-19-2015)
I think the point is, Aybar shouldn't be as massive of a downgrade (based off their recent #s) that most people are suggesting. He still produced a 2.3 WAR in 2015 and will likely be better offensively than Simmons next season. He will be 32 next season, so that is a concern, but we also got back two very promising pitchers in the deal as well. Its a trade that could help out both long term and short term.
Last edited by Carp; 11-19-2015 at 08:19 AM.
clvclv (11-19-2015)
I hope this Aybar spin is just that. Aybar is not a bad player but he is not as good as Simmons so we will be worse overall at the SS position barring the random career year. They were the same offensively in 2015 and likely will be in 2016 as well. Again I hope the talk of Aybar having that 276 career average while Simmons never hitting 276 and Aybar being an all-star a couple of years ago is just spin for the casual fan. And if it is then that's fine. I mean we heard the same lines about Markakis replacing Heyward last year.
I don't see us trading Aybar until after the season has started. He is really the only option at the position we have until Albies is ready. Yeah you can try Garcia but really he is not an everyday option. You put Aybar out there and hope he has a good first half of the season. Trade him at the deadline and pick up prospects.