The Phillies hoped that Jean Segura would be a long-term answer at shortstop, but could a polarizing first year lead to a one-and-done situation?
Coming into the 2019 season, shortstop Jean Segura was seemingly the perfect fit to an already almost complete puzzle for the Phillies.
Offseason acquisitions Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, and JT Realmuto would all surely benefit from an elite “contact hitter” batting around them, right?
Over the course of his last three seasons, Segura hit AT LEAST .300 each year, amassing a total of 538 hits in the process.
Segura was selected to his first All-Star game in 2013 and even received some MVP votes during his fifth season, a year in which he led the entire MLB in base hits (2016).
In 2018, Segura received his second career All-Star nomination and was just one RBI shy of tying his career-best.
When looking at all this on face value, Segura looks like a pretty darn good player, and early on in his Phillies career he proved just that. Segura hit an absurd .344 in the month of April, playing an important role in the Phillies’ short-lived first place stint and rightly living up to his nickname: “Jean the Hittin’ Machine”.
However, as the year progressed and the Phillies began their inevitable slide into mediocrity, Segura slid right along with them. The 29-year-old hit .282 after the All-Star break and saw his OPS drop 62 points compared to his pre-All-Star numbers.
On top of the decrease in offensive production, Segura’s defense took steps in the wrong direction, as he recorded a career-worst 20 errors in the field.
With all that said, the biggest flaw to Segura’s debut in 2019 was neither his offense nor his defense, it was his attitude. Segura routinely jogged out ground balls or didn’t hustle down the basepath. The most egregious example of this was when he didn’t run out a pop up and McCutchen tore his ACL in the baserunning confusion afterward. Fans regularly took note of Segura’s lack of hustle (along with his tendency to be extra friendly to rivals on the field) and quickly turned on him.
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.280/.323/.420 isn’t a terrible season by any means. It’s not great and definitely not what the Phillies paid for, but it’s still a fine year. With that said, the new Phillies coaching staff has to find a way to get more out of the Dominican infielder. At just 29 going on 30, there is zero reason for Segura to be experiencing any sort of significant regression. Plenty of contact specialists actually get better at putting the ball into play later into their careers (see Ichiro Suzuki).
While the Philly faithful might have turned on him, it doesn’t appear the Phillies’ front office has done the same. With three more years on his contract and $42.75 million left to pay, the Phillies are in it for the long haul with Segura.
However, as he continues to age and regress defensively, talks have begun on moving him away from the SS position, a move which could recoup some of his recently lost value. Perhaps new manager Joe Girardi can pull something out of Segura.
Regardless, expect Segura to be a 2020 opening day starter, whether at shortstop or a different infield position. His ability to hit for contact and put balls into play will be a critical factor if the Phillies want to see some October baseball next season.