Cubs agree to one-year deal with shortstop Andrelton Simmons

The Cubs were in need of at least middle-infield depth coming out of the lockout.

SHARE Cubs agree to one-year deal with shortstop Andrelton Simmons
Free agent shortstop Andrelton Simmons agreed to a one-year deal with the Cubs on Friday.

Free agent shortstop Andrelton Simmons agreed to a one-year deal with the Cubs on Friday. File Photo.

AP Photos

MESA, ARIZ. — The Cubs have a new shortstop. 

Free agent Andrelton Simmons has agreed to a one-year deal for $4 million plus incentives, the Sun-Times confirmed. The club was in need of at least middle-infield depth coming out of the lockout. 

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman was first to report the details of Simmons’ deal.

Simmons, 32, is a four-time Gold Glove winner, but he struggled at the plate for the Twins last season, slashing .223/.283/.274. He has a career .264 batting average.

He adds a veteran presence and defensive prowess to the Cubs’ middle infield. With him, plus middle infielder Nico Hoerner’s ability to play the outfield, the Cubs have added flexibility to work in rest days for Hoerner and second baseman Nick Madrigal. 

Both have shown plenty of potential but also battled injuries last season. Madrigal suffered a season-ending hamstring tear in June. Hoerner made three trips to the injured list. 

Simmons’ contract leaves room for the Cubs to add another shortstop. 

With rumors swirling about the Cubs’ interest in top free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa, manager David Ross was asked Friday morning if he had any shortstops in mind to add. 

“There’s a good one behind me that’s been there,” he said of Hoerner. “So I leave that stuff up to the front office, and we communicate regularly, and they’re up there in their offices kind of hunkered down and working on filling out the rest of the roster.”

The Latest
Glass-facade buildings can disorient birds in flight. The city is expected to update and revise rules for new developments and rehabbed buildings next month. But bird groups say the proposed guidelines need to be mandatory.
The man was shot in the left eye area in the 5700 block of South Christiana Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side.
Most women who seek abortions are women of color, especially Black women. Restricting access to mifepristone, as a case now before the Supreme Court seeks to do, would worsen racial health disparities.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.
Woman is getting anxious about how often she has to host her husband’s hunting buddy and his wife, who don’t contribute at all to mealtimes.