Red Reports

The Red Report: Alfredo Simon

Can Simon keep serving up some of his Shutdown Alfredo Sauce at GABP?

By Grahamophone Mar 30, 2013, 6:42pm EDT

Alfredo Simon

#31 / Pitcher / Cincinnati Reds

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 08, 1981

Fast Facts:

Alfredo Simon Cabrera was born on May 8th, 1981 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago, Dominican Republic. The city of Santiago has a population of nearly 700,000 and has produced a number of major league ballplayers. Jose Lima, Jhonny Peralta, Joaquin Benoit, Jose Reyes, and Julian Tavarez are some of the other big leaguers who are from Santiago.
Simon attended Liceo Gregoria High School. According to Baseball-Reference, Simon is the only Liceo Gregoria attendee to reach the major leagues.
The Phillies signed Simon as an amateur free agent on July 2nd, 1999. He bounced around a few organizations via free agency and the rule 5 draft before reaching the majors with Baltimore on September 6th, 2008.
Simon pitched fewer than 20 innings combined in 2008 and 2009. However, Simon was the Orioles' de facto closer in 2010 when he recorded 17 saves in just 49 innings.
Simon allegedly killed a man and wounded the man's brother in early 2011 at a New Year's party. Authorities charged him with involuntary manslaughter, but Simon was acquitted of all charges in November of that year.
Baltimore moved Simon to the rotation for parts of 2011. He started 16 games, but had a 4.96 ERA in those contests, which is an admittedly small sample size (only 94 frames).
The Reds claimed Simon off waivers at the start of the 2012 season. He had a rough start to the year, but pitched very well overall, throwing 61 innings of 2.66 ERA (160 ERA+) ball.

Organizational History:

July 2, 1999: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent.

July 30, 2004: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Ricky Ledee to the San Francisco Giants for Felix Rodriguez.

October 15, 2006: Granted Free Agency.

November 3, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.

December 7, 2006: Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles from the Texas Rangers in the 2006 rule 5 draft.

December 7, 2006: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Adam Donachie (minors) and cash.

March 17, 2007: Returned (earlier draft pick) by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Texas Rangers.

October 29, 2007: Granted Free Agency.

January 10, 2008: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

March 30, 2008: Released by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

September 5, 2008: Signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.

November 9, 2009: Granted Free Agency.

December 2, 2009: Signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.

April 3, 2012: Selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds from the Baltimore Orioles.

via Baseball-Reference.com

Contract Status:

Simon signed a one-year, $0.89 million contract with the Reds on January 31st, 2013 to avoid arbitration.

Career Stats:

Data courtesy: Baseball-Reference.com

Scouting:

Ratings via the Baseball Cube:

This is pretty straightforward. Simon does not have great stuff, but he maintains respectable K/BB (2.08) and BB/9 (3.2) ratios. His best skill is his endurance, which the Baseball Cube does not grade.

2013 Projections:

Projections via Fangraphs:

The projection systems see him regressing toward his 2008-11 performance level. This is mainly due to his low home run and high strand rates in 2012. His BABIP was on the high side last year at .337, so we might expect that to come down a little.

PITCHf/x Pitcher Profile: