Shae Austin Simmons (born September 3, 1990) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Career

Simmons attended Scott City High School in

Scott City, Missouri Scott City is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 4,346 at the 2020 census. The Scott County portion of Scott City (the majority) is part of the Sikeston Micropolitan Statistical Area, w ...

and

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Atlanta Braves

Simmons was drafted by the

in the 22nd round of the

2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. In his first professional season, Simmons pitched for the

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

and

Gulf Coast Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at CoolTod ...

. He appeared in 16 games with a 1.46

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 36 strikeouts in innings pitched. In 2013, he played for the

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

and

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

. He finished the season with a 1.69 ERA and 82 strikeouts over innings in 50 games. He was named to the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

All-Star Game. In 2014, Simmons was invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the Braves. He started the 2014 season back with Double-A Mississippi. He was called up to the major leagues for the first time on May 30, 2014. He made his major league debut the next day, striking out the only batter he faced. On July 19, 2014, Simmons gave up a home run to Phillies shortstop

Jimmy Rollins James Calvin Rollins (born November 27, 1978), nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and Chicago White ...

. This marked the first time Simmons had allowed a home run since May 18, 2012, his senior year in college. Simmons was enjoying a successful ride in the Braves bullpen until he landed on the disabled list on July 29 with shoulder soreness. In his first 20 appearances, he had a 0.96 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 6 walks. Simmons told reporters he "held off" telling the Braves about the tightness, thinking it wasn't "too serious". On August 20, he was temporarily shut down following an unsuccessful rehab assignment with Triple-A

Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

, and he didn't return to the mound the rest of the season. Despite the abrupt end to his season, he impressed in a mere 21.2 innings, going 1-2 with a 2.91 ERA and 23 strikeouts to only 11 walks. Expected to enter the season competing for the primary setup role to closer

Craig Kimbrel Craig Michael Kimbrel (born May 28, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Chicag ...

, Simmons received unfortunate news when an MRI revealed a tear to his UCL in his throwing elbow, causing him to miss the entire 2015 season. On February 12, 2015, Simmons underwent successful

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, performed by

Dr. James Andrews James Andrews (born May 2, 1942) is an American orthopedic surgeon. He is a surgeon for knee, elbow, and shoulder injuries and is a specialist in repairing damaged ligaments. Practicing in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Andrews has become one of the bes ...

. He began pitching again in May 2016, but recovery was slow, as he was affected by other minor injuries. The Braves recalled Simmons on August 30.

Seattle Mariners

On January 11, 2017, Simmons was traded, along with

Mallex Smith Mallex Lydell Smith (born May 6, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves in 2016, Tampa Bay Rays from 2017 to 2018, and Seattle Mariners from 20 ...

, to the

in exchange for minor-league pitchers Luiz Gohara and

Thomas Burrows Thomas E. Burrows (born September 14, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. The Seattle Mariners selected Burrows in the fourth round, with the 117th overall selection, of the 2016 MLB draft. Career Burrows atte ...

Chicago Cubs

On February 14, 2018, Simmons signed a one-year split contract with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. Simmons was placed on waivers on June 26, 2018 and was outrighted on June 27, but rather than accept the assignment, he rejected it in favor of free agency.

References

External links

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Shae 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Cape Girardeau, Missouri People from Scott County, Missouri Baseball players from Missouri Major League Baseball pitchers Atlanta Braves players Seattle Mariners players Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball players Gulf Coast Braves players Danville Braves players Rome Braves players Mississippi Braves players Scottsdale Scorpions players Gwinnett Braves players Arizona League Mariners players Arkansas Travelers players Tacoma Rainiers players Iowa Cubs players