Phillies 2021 Spring Training Preview: Position Players
C.J. Chatham
One question you may be asking is, who will the Phillies bench infielders be in 2021? Well, you are going to read about potentially one of them, and now another question you have is, who is C.J. Chatham?
Chatham was a former second-round pick from the Boston Red Sox while Dombrowski was running their team and he hasn’t been called up to the Majors.
Chatham has been in the Red Sox’s system since 2016 and has been in at all levels with some success but not enough to make it to the show.
His best stretch might be in 2019 Double-A where he had a 114 wRC+ in 90 games which got him called up to Triple-A the rest of the minor league season. In Triple-A he regressed down to a 92 wRC+ and hasn’t been called up to the Major’s, that would’ve probably been his best chance in Boston.
Chatham at 26 will now have a prime chance to finally make the show, clearly, Dombrowski still thinks he can be an impactful player for the Phillies and they desperately need some infield depth, this will be Chatham’s best chance yet to make the majors.
Jean Segura
After a disappointing 2019 season, many people, including me, thought Jean Segura was going to be a liability for the Phillies for the rest of his tenure. After this past season, we now need to think about him as a serious player again.
While it was a short sample size for Segura there were some great signs that some of the changes the Phillies made helped him regain his form. Maybe the biggest one was signing Didi Gregorius and after a short stint at 3rd base, the Phillies made Segura the full-time second baseman, and things went much better for him.
At second base in 2020, Segura posted a 2.3 UZR which is a lot better than when he was the full-time shortstop in 2019, with a -1.3 UZR. The switch made him a valuable player instead of a liability which is a great sign for 2021 and will help his game age with time.
As a hitter, Segura also had a bounce-back season in 2020. In 2019 Segura had just a 92 wRC+ and a 91 OPS+ which is one of the worst seasons of his entire career. In 2020 he jumped right back up to above league average in both categories with a 107 wRC+ and a 106 OPS+.
Whatever it is, maybe a new hitting coach in Joe Dillion? Something worked for Segura and we should all be excited for what he will bring in the 2021 season with these changes going for a full season.