


Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports 


Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons suffered a thumb injury Sunday during his team's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.  

Continue for updates.

Simmons Set for MRI on Monday

Sunday, May 8

Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times noted Simmons left Sunday's game in the third inning with a sprained left thumb and confirmed the MRI news. DiGiovanna said it happened on a diving stop.

The Angels acquired Simmons in November as the Atlanta Braves entered rebuild mode, and the move was a major win for a club that needed an upgrade at shortstop.

One of the league's premier defensive players, Simmons posted 5.4 defensive wins above replacement in 2013 before that number dipped slightly to 3.9 in 2014 and 3.5 last year. 

And while he's never been a power hitter, Simmons established himself as a solid contributor by batting .256 with a .304 on-base percentage, 31 home runs and 168 RBI over his first four seasons in the majors. 

Thus far in his first season with the Angels, Simmons was batting .219 with one home run and eight RBI coming into Sunday's contest. He's also tallied a dWAR rating of 1.0, per ESPN.com.

"You want to be productive, whatever it is," Simmons said during spring training, according to the Los Angeles Times' Pedro Moura. "You want to move the guy over when you have to. You want to come up with a big hit."

Should Simmons miss time, utility man Cliff Pennington projects as his primary replacement at shortstop. 

 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 
