Reports: Mariners agree to trade All-Star SS Jean Segura to Phillies
Dec 2, 2018, 8:15 PM | Updated: 11:23 pm
Two-time All-Star Jean Segura is the rumored next Mariners player to be traded. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners’ blockbuster trade with the Mets is expected to finally be official Monday, and it probably won’t be the only significant deal of the day.
Multiple reports say the Mariners and Phillies have agreed in principle on a trade that will send All-Star shortstop Jean Segura to Philadelphia, with 23-year-old shortstop J.P. Crawford expected to headline the return for Seattle.
The Seattle #Mariners and Philadelphia #Phillies have agreed in principal to a trade that will send Jean Segura to the Phillies for shortstop J.P. Crawford that involved other players as well. The deal will be announced Monday. @Ken_Rosenthal first that they were in serious talks
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 3, 2018
With the Mariners now in an apparent full-scale rebuild following multiple trades of their key major league players, Segura is a prime candidate to be traded. At 28, he’s coming off an All-Star season and a long-term contract with a base salary of $14.25 million per season over the next four seasons that is fairly attractive to contending teams but not so much for one in the Seattle’s current position. Segura has a no-trade clause that would need to be waived for the deal to completed, however.
Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports that veteran first baseman Carlos Santana (and the $34.5 million over two years he’s still owed on his contract) is expected to be included in the Mariners’ return to help offset Segura’s contract. The 32-year-old Santana, a longtime Cleveland mainstay, hit .229 with 24 home runs, 86 RBIs and a .766 OPS in 2018, his first season with Philadelphia.
M’s offseason trades: Colomé to ChiSox | Paxton to NYY | Zunino to Rays
Crawford, who was a first-round draft pick out of high school by Philadelphia in 2016 (No. 16 overall), debuted for the Phillies in 2017, but despite high expectations has yet to blossom at the major league level. In 72 MLB games, he has a .214 batting average, .333 on-base percentage and .358 slugging percentage with three home runs and three stolen bases. Crawford was limited in the second half of the 2018 season due to a fractured left hand.
According to the Baseball Prospectus scouting report at the time of Crawford’s MLB call-up, the lefty-swinging shortstop has the makings of a high on-base percentage hitter with good pitch selection, and he is an above-average defender.
Segura has spent two seasons with the Mariners, making his second career All-Star team in 2018. He led the Mariners with a .304 batting average and 91 runs scored last season. He added 10 home runs, 63 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, 29 doubles, three triples, a .755 OPS and just 69 strikeouts in 632 plate appearances.
The Phillies are believed to have their eye at playing Segura at shortstop and making a play for All-Star free agent Manny Machado to be their third baseman, though they could be risk of losing out on Machado if he decides he’d rather continue to play short than move back to third.
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