The Seattle Mariners‘ rebuild continued Monday with a deal that brought back an out-of-favor prospect who is just a half-season into his major-league career and sent one of Seattle’s best remaining players, Jean Segura, to a Philadelphia Phillies team that had a black hole at shortstop in 2018.
Segura’s career has been remarkable. He bounced back from two years as a replacement-level player in Milwaukee, during which time his 9-month-old son passed away, to become a consistent star worth about 4 WAR per season for Arizona and Seattle over the last three years.
The Phillies got less production from shortstop than any other position last year, with a composite line of .235/.281/.370 and below-average defense from almost everyone they played there. Adding Segura addresses both problems; he can play short and he’s got a consistent track record of offensive production, replacing J.P. Crawford on the depth chart and allowing the Phillies to get Scott Kingery off shortstop to a position he can actually play, which they have to hope will allow him to focus on his hitting after a disappointing rookie season. Segura is guaranteed about $60 million over the next four years, including the buyout on a team option for 2023, by which point he’ll be 33 and might no longer be a viable shortstop.