Phillies: Jean Segura has upper hand for starting 2B job

Once involved in trade rumors with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this offseason, Jean Segura donning red pinstripes for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2021 was far from a definite.

Now, however, the nine-year veteran not only appears to be a lock to play for the team, but he also is being penciled in as an everyday player at a set position  — even before spring training gets underway.

Jean Segura will be a regular in the 2021 Phillies lineup.

Wednesday afternoon, Phillies manager Joe Girardi told reporters that Segura “definitely has the upper hand” at playing full-time at second base this coming season. “Jean played really well there,” he added.

Although Segura’s batting average dipped from .280 to .266 between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, his on-base percentage and slugging percentage did see an increase. In the field, the Dominican Republic native was versatile, logging innings at second base, shortstop, and third base. He committed just three combined errors spanning 434 1/3 innings. At second base, specifically, Segura did not commit a single error across 239 1/3 innings and 112 chances.

Can Jean Segura coexist with fellow infielders Didi Gregorius and Scott Kingery?

With the addition of shortstop Didi Gregorius made official on Wednesday, Girardi added that the plan is to play Segura at second. As for Scott Kingery, he said he will have to “fight for his playing time, all over the field in a sense.”

With Kingery also versatile, there is a scenario in which all three players are penciled into the Phillies lineup on a given day. “Because of the versatility of Jean Segura — being able to move him all around — Scott can fill in a lot of different places,” Girardi said. “Say you give Rhys [Hoskins] a day off, you could move Alec [Bohm] to first, put Jean at third and put Scott at second.”

“Say you give Didi a day off, you could possibly put Jean at short put and Scott at second,” the skipper added. “There’s going to be plenty of at-bats for Scott Kingery if he produces the way that he’s capable. And, he could play center field.”