With the injury to Gold Glove SS Andrelton Simmons who will require surgery because of a full thickness tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, in comes Cliff Pennington to save the day
The Angels got the worst case of the Monday’s as Simmons will miss about 6-8 because of an injury to his left thumb. Simmons was just getting settled into his new home at the Big A, as he was already creating magic at shortstop. With another huge injury blow, who will step up for the Angels at the SS position, will it be 3B Escobar who can shift over, or another bench player?
According to Mike DiGiovanna, It’s possible #Angels could move 3B Yunel Escobar to SS and call up 3B Cowart or Kubitza. Best guess is Pennington plays mostly SS. Pennington already has been with the team this season, and has made some appearances at 2B for the halo’s. Pennington has played in 22 games for the Halo’s so far with sub-average numbers.
Can Cliff Pennington Get The Job Done For The Angels At SS?
— Halo Headquarters (@haloheadquarter) May 10, 2016
Cliff Pennington so far this season 40 AB’S, 7 Hits, 4 RBI’S, 12 SO’S …..0.175 batting average. 23 Put Outs on the field, 0 Errors. Pennington has started 11 games at 2nd base, but also has played a couple of innings at both 3B and SS this season. It’s a short answer to this question, Pennington is no Simmons. Pennington does have the heart and passion as it will show in the up coming days at SS, but this will be a huge loss to the Angels.
Last year with the Diamond Backs, Pennington had a total of 9 errors at SS out of 35 put outs. Not the best of numbers, but Pennington will get the job done for the Angels. It may not be pretty and fancy like the “Simba” puts on, but Pennington will be an average SS for the next 6-8 weeks for the Angels. When it rains it pours, another Angel down…