Phillies offense can reignite with Jean Segura’s return

Jean Segura returns from the injured list Saturday night, and the Phillies offense should welcome back their starting shortstop with open arms.

The saying “you don’t know a good thing until it’s gone” is certainly a cliche, but it rings true for the Phillies and Jean Segura. While Segura was out of action for the last week and a half, his presence has been missed in the lineup.

In 16 games before sustaining his injury, Segura had a .328/.384/.478 line with a 6.8% walk rate, 15.1% strikeout rate, and 131 wRC+. When he sustained the injury, he led the team in batting average and hits.

Since Segura has left the lineup, the Phillies have not been the same tea offensively. Since April 18, they rank 25th in runs scored, 22nd in batting average, 20th in walk-to-strikeout ratio, and 26th in wRC+.

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While the entire team has not produced as effectively as they did early on this season, the shortstop position has provided little production since Segura’s injury. Scott Kingery went on the injured list the same day that Segura did and Phil Gosselin and Sean Rodriguez have had to fill in the gap.

With Segura out, Philadelphia’s shortstops rank 29th in batting average, 26th in OPS, 30th in walk-to-strikeout ratio, and 28th in wRC+. Gosselin has just three singles and a double in 20 at-bats while Rodriguez has just two hits, albeit one was a home run, in 11 at-bats.

Without Segura holding down the No. 2 spot and an injury to Odubel Herrera, Gabe Kapler has had to shift around the batting order considerably. J.T. Realmuto was hitting second with Maikel Franco hitting fifth. This removed the protection that Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper had behind them, so losing Segura and Herrera had a negative butterfly effect on the rest of the lineup.

Thankfully, Segura will return to the lineup Saturday night against the Marlins after being activated from the injured list. The club will use almost the exact same batting order from Opening Day, the only difference being Nick Williams replacing Herrera in the No. 6 spot.

Segura’s return and the ensuing resetting of the lineup should provide a boost to the skidding offense.