Did the Phillies trade Jean Segura?
Something’s going on with Jean Segura.
The Philadelphia Phillies infielder’s Instagram has been scrubbed of any mention of his team, and only one family photo remains. He even removed his profile picture and bio.
Jean Segura scrubbed his IG of all things Phillies and put this quote about privacy in his stories 😨😨 pic.twitter.com/JzPfmEHeba
— PHILLIES TBOH (@FS_TBOH) November 17, 2021
It’s unclear whether or not Segura ever followed the Phillies’ official account, but he doesn’t now, nor does he follow the Phillie Phanatic on Instagram. He still follows the MLB official Instagram account, as well as many of his Phillies teammates, including Bryce Harper, Ranger Suárez, and Rhys Hoskins. As such, it’s hard to imagine he never followed the account of the team he’s played for since 2019.
The Phillies’ Instagram still follows Segura, but they also still follow Andrew McCutchen and Odúbel Herrera, two new free agents the Phillies opted not to retain for 2022.
And then there’s the quote Segura put in his lone Instagram story. It appears to be the Spanish translation of an Edward Snowden quote:
"“Saying that you are not concerned about privacy because you have nothing to hide is like saying that you are not concerned with freedom of expression because you have nothing to say.”"
Segura is essentially asking people to value privacy, presumably his. The reason fans think it has to do with being traded rather than a personal matter is the removal of all baseball content from his page.
2022 is the final year of the 31-year-old Segura’s five-year, $70M deal that began with the Seattle Mariners in 2018. The Phillies also have a club option on Segura for 2023.
Should the Phillies trade Jean Segura?
In some ways, trading Segura makes sense. He hit .290/.348/.436 with a .784 OPS over 131 games. His 14 home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS were all the second-best marks of his decade-long career. The trade return would likely be significant.
Additionally, from a personality standpoint, trading Segura away wouldn’t come as a total shock. He and his manager Joe Girardi got into a verbal altercation in the dugout early on in the season, and the infielder has drawn criticism for attitude and effort throughout his MLB career.
However, dealing Segura brings up challenges, too. The Phillies are saddled with the final year of shortstop Didi Gregorius’ contract, and owe him over $15M in 2022. He had an extremely poor season, both offensively and defensively. of the two middle infielders, Gregorius is the one the Phillies should be trying to unload, but for the exact reason they likely will not be able to do just that.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has made it clear that his offseason priorities are the bullpen – in particular, a closer – and outfield. If they are trading Segura, it likely means more playing time for rookie Luke Williams, and perhaps an affordable re-signing of Freddy Galvis, who returned to his longtime team at the trade deadline.
Whatever is going on with Segura, something is going on. Unless, of course, Segura’s Instagram was simply hacked, and Phillies fans have worked themselves into an emotional lather over nothing. It certainly feels like something, though.