MLB.com’s Jon Morosi: Jean Segura Mariners’ MVP, but Dee Gordon is this team’s ‘heart and soul’
Jun 26, 2018, 11:16 AM | Updated: 11:39 am
Dee Gordon and Jean Segura have given the Mariners a 1-2 punch atop the lineup. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners are 3 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West as the midway point of the MLB season approaches, but Seattle is still having one of the best starts in franchise history.
MLB.com’s Jon Morosi joined Jim Moore and Dave Wyman (filling in for Brock and Salk) on 710 ESPN Seattle to explain that while shortstop Jean Segura gets his vote for Mariners MVP, it’s second baseman Dee Gordon that has been “the heart and soul” of this Mariners team.
“You know you’ve got a great team in the true sense when this is a hard question to answer, or when you’ve got a few different candidates that it could be,” Morosi replied when asked who would be his team MVP. “I think (Jean) Segura has been, from start to finish of the season, the most valuable player on the team.”
The 28-year-old Segura leads all shortstops in batting average (.331) and hits (99), is second in runs scored (52) and third in stolen bases (14). He’s not the only player who received praise from Morosi, though. Morosi also believes contributions from Gordon, both on the field and in the clubhouse, have helped make Seattle a contender.
“I think that Dee Gordon has done the most to change the way they play,” Morosi said. “Jean Segura’s probably the MVP, Dee Gordon’s the heart and soul. I think that Dee Gordon has become the enthusiastic barometer of the way this team plays. I actually had a rival team executive tell me that they believe that from a team standpoint, with Dee Gordon at second base, that they like the team better now than when (Robinson) Canó was playing second base every day. Now, that was the opinion of one person … but the point was that with the defense and the energy that Dee brings, he just fits better in the middle of the diamond in the infield.
“… The middle part of this season, you think about all the miles the Mariners have to travel every year to play this game in this division, you need to have someone like Dee Gordon to help keep the energy level up every day. I think Ryon Healy has done the same thing. I think Jean Segura, the consistency that he’s played with, (general manager) Jerry Dipoto told me recently that in terms of pure bat-to-ball skills Jean Segura reminds him of a Paul Molitor. That’s not the total necessarily of the player, but that’s instructive to think about just how coordinated Jean Segura is. And then of course you have Nelson Cruz, who’s got the most home runs in baseball in the last 10 seasons. It’s been a very, very balanced lineup and I think there’s been a lot of heroes for this team this year, which I think is why they’re in position now to make the playoffs.”
