Phillies: 5 shortstop candidates for 2021
By David Esser
The Phillies have a big decision to make at shortstop next offseason
The Phillies addressed two major holes in their roster this past offseason: starting pitching and shortstop. Despite being less than a year removed from trading for Jean Segura, Joe Girardi and the Phillies front office felt there were upgrades to be had.
With Segura starting to show signs of regression as a defender, the Phillies decided it was worthwhile to invest in the infield yet again.
Likely a selling point to Girardi when they hired him, Matt Klentak went out and snagged longtime Yankee Didi Gregorius on a one-year deal. While this move no doubt sures up the shortstop position for the expected shortened 2020 season, it leaves question marks moving forward. With no guarantee Gregorius will return to Philly for 2021, that hole in the infield remains a glaring issue.
Didi Gregorius (re-signs)
By far the easiest option of the bunch, the Phillies could simply opt to retain Gregorius for another year. At just 30 years old, it’s completely reasonable to assume he still has some serious gas left in the tank. A technical defender who has rarely relied on his pure athleticism in the past, Gregorius could surely provide another year of solid shortstop play as the Phillies continue to plan out the long term future of the position.
Gregorius has obviously yet to play an actual game in a Phillies uniform, but based on everything he’s said since signing, he appears to be quite happy as a member of the organization. Obviously having a strong connection with Girardi helps, and his $14 million dollar salary is a sweetener, but he also gets the opportunity to be an everyday starter on a fringe playoff team as he chases one final payday.
With the 2020 MLB season set to be shortened, the market for Didi may be small this upcoming winter. Given that he’s healthy and the Phillies are willing to pay $10+ million for him again, he could very easily decide to hang around for another season.