Phillies: 5 shortstop candidates for 2021
Jean Segura
Despite obviously being the least exciting option, simply moving Segura back to his natural position in a year is an option the Phillies shouldn’t rule out. Despite the veteran showing signs of athletic regression in 2019, he’s played the position for eight straight years and is currently on the hook for a $14.85 million dollar salary in 2021.
Segura didn’t inherently struggle last year, but he wasn’t his usual All-Star self when it came to his debut season with the Phillies. He recorded a career-high 20 errors, and his overall fielding percentage was down 2.6% from a few seasons prior. He made a few mental mistakes on the diamond, but his biggest struggles arose when it came to “high athleticism” type plays. He just didn’t have the same quickness that a Javier Baez or a Francisco Lindor have.
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The Phillies were currently in the process of transitioning Segura over to third base for the upcoming season, and while that had mixed results in Spring Training, the transition makes sense on paper. Not only do the Phillies have a glaring hole at the hot corner currently, but Segura possesses the natural arm strength to play there (his range factor per 9 innings was still above average last year).
We have yet to see Segura play an actual MLB inning at third inning yet, and the shortened season may provide complications in getting him to fully learn the position. However, if the Phillies find themselves with no other options heading into the 2021 campaign, simply scooting him back over to shortstop is a reasonable solution (Alec Bohm would likely be taking over the everyday job at third base by this point).