Twins beef up infield with Andrelton Simmons for $10.5M

The Minnesota Twins are candidates for the best infield in baseball.

The Twins and shortstop Andrelton Simmons agreed to a one-year contract for $10.5 million on Tuesday, according to reports. Simmons was a free agent after his 7-year, $58 million contract signed in 2014 finally expired.

Simmons is a four-time All-Star and regarded as one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball. The 31-year-old is a career .269 hitter with a .696 career OPS, but he became a reliable bat for the Angels from 2017-2019, even hitting as many as 38 doubles and 14 homers in 2017.

The Twins will now have Josh Donaldson at third, Simmons at short, Luis Arraez at second, and Miguel Sano at first base. They have won the division the last two years, made the playoffs three of the last four, and seem poised to do it again in 2021.