Lake Buena Vista, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Atlanta Braves continued their movement to keep their young core of players long term, signing shortstop Andrelton Simmons to a contract extension that will run through the 2020 season.
According to various reports, the seven-year deal is worth $58 million.
The Braves have had a busy few weeks. The team locked up young stars Craig Kimbrel, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward and Julio Teheran in recent weeks and extended manager Fredi Gonzalez and general manager Frank Wren on Wednesday.
Simmons, who wasn't arbitration eligible until 2015, hit .248 with 17 homers and 59 RBI in 157 games in 2013. He finished 14th in MVP voting and won the Gold Glove for his efforts.
"We feel that Andrelton is one of the premier shortstops in the game today and we are happy that we were able to agree on this multi-year contract." said Wren in a statement Thursday.
In two seasons with the Braves, Simmons holds a batting average of .256 with 20 homers and 78 RBI over 206 games.
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