The Minnesota Twins look to be sellers ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline and with that, it’s time to assess the value of Andrelton Simmons.

Simmons is going to be the first player we discuss and in case you missed it, I wrote a brief rundown of the players who could potentially be dealt by July 30.

Minnesota signed Simmons to a one-year deal, worth $10.5 million. At the time, the acquisition looked like a good move. It wasn’t a long-term commitment, he provided average offense and was elite on defense. Thus far, he’s been awful batting and average on defense.

Here’s a comparison of his past three seasons, including his 2021 campaign.

• 2019: 103 G, 424 PA, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 37 SO, .264 BA, .309 OBO, .354 SLG, .673 OPS, 77 OPS+
• 2020: 30 G, 127 PA, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 16 SO, .297 BA, .346 OBO, .356 SLG, .702 OPS, 91 OPS+
• 2019: 68 G, 227 PA, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 41 SO, .229 BA, .297 OBO, .308 SLG, .606 OPS, 72 OPS+

2020 is an obvious outlier for two reasons: (1) the season was shorter (2) Simmons was a much better hitter. During that season, he hit nearly .300 and had an OPS+ of 91 (league average: 100). On average, how he performed in 2019, is close to what he’s done in previous seasons.

His strikeouts are what jumps out the most. During the 2019 season, he saw 424 plate appearances and struck out 37 times. However, he’s already surpassed that number with 41 in 252 appearances this year. The league average this season for OPS is .718 and for on-base, it’s .315. Simmons isn’t even over .300 for his OBP and is under 100 points for his OPS.

It would be one thing if he was providing elite defense, but he’s not. In his 10-year career, Simmons has been a four-time defensive player of the year, a platinum glove winner and a Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year.

This season he’s committed eight errors in 68 games. His career-high in one season is 14, but in those seasons he finished with a fielding percentage near .980 or higher. This season he’s on record for saving three runs, which is better than his negative two last year. Still, his three runs saved is well below what he’s done in the past – seeing numbers as low as 17 and as high as 41.

Some team will take a gamble on him for a postseason run. He’s on a one-year deal and if he doesn’t perform for his new ballclub, then they can move on from him at the end of the season. Whatever the trade package involves, will ultimately leave the Twins with little value in return.

Simmons should be one of the top priorities to trade ahead of the July 30, trade deadline. It’ll open the door for players like Nick Gordon and Luis Arráez. Minnesota could also call up some prospects and find out what they have for the long-term future.