Angels trade with Nats for veteran infielder Brendan Ryan

The Los Angeles Angels acquired infielder Brendan Ryan in a trade with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday to help fill the void left by the injury to Andrelton Simmons, who is expected to miss up to two months with a thumb injury.

The Angels acquired Ryan, who was playing at Triple-A Syracuse, for cash considerations. He was added to the Angels' 25-man roster and made his debut in Tuesday night's loss when he entered in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement at shortstop.

Simmons underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a full thickness tear of the ulnar collateral ligament of his left thumb. Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Monday that Simmons is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

Simmons is one of the majors' best fielders. He won two Gold Glove awards with the Atlanta Braves before they traded him to Los Angeles in the offseason. He has been a strong fielder in his first season with the Angels, although he made a throwing error in a loss Saturday.

Ryan, 34, had a .263 average and .305 on-base percentage in the minors this season. A Southern California native, he played the past three seasons with the New York Yankees and hit .229 in 47 games last season. He has a .978 fielding percentage in his career.

Simmons, 26, was hurt when he landed awkwardly on his glove hand while diving to stop a grounder hit by Evan Longoria in the third inning of Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. He immediately left the game and was replaced at shortstop by Cliff Pennington, who moved over from second base.

Pennington has played shortstop in 529 games in his nine big league seasons and has a .968 fielding percentage at the position.

Simmons has struggled at the plate this season, batting .219 with eight RBIs. He had a hit Saturday to end an 0-for-21 skid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.