Mariners’ Scott Servais likes confidence, approach of new shortstop Jean Segura

There’s no doubt the Mariners received a unique player when they traded for one-time All-Star Jean Segura over the offseason. And now with a few Cactus League games under their belts, they are seeing up close just how special their new shortstop is.

“He can really run the bases well, he’s got power. It’s an interesting package,” Mariners manager Scott Servais told “Brock and Salk” on Wednesday. “Really confident player. When he gets in the batter’s box, there’s no panic. He’s not the guy that’s gonna get up there and draw a ton of walks. He’s up there to hit. That’s how he controls the zone. He can get the barrel of the bat to many different pitches in different parts of the strike zone. He’s exciting to watch.”

And it’s not just that Segura can hit pitches all over the zone. He can hit them all over the field.

“It’s truly line to line. He hits the ball from the right field line to the left field line, he can hit it in the seats. There’s a lot to like there,” Servais said. “It’s a little bit unorthodox in how he does it. It’s a very short load or short trigger to his swing, but the barrel gets there.”

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This isn’t the first time that Servais has had Segura in his organization. Segura started his career in the minors with the Los Angeles Angels, and their paths crossed paths when Servais was in a player development role with the franchise. There’s a big difference in Segura’s style of hitting now as opposed to then, however.

“He’s really strong, really quick, and he’s changed some things,” Servais said. “His hands were not that low when we had him as a minor league player with the Angels. I think that’s something he changed a year, year and a half ago, and it was natural for him. He gets into a good hitting position, and it’s about production and getting it done, and everybody does it a little bit different. That’s the beauty of baseball.”

There’s no reason to quibble with Segura’s distinctive approach, especially since he posted a .319/.368/.499 slash line with 20 homers and a National League-leading 203 hits. That’s not all that makes Segura stand out in the game of baseball, though. Servais said the 26-year-old native of the Dominican Republic doesn’t look like the kind of player who has stolen 20 bases or more in each of the past four seasons, but the results speak for themselves.

“You look at the stature of Jean, it’s a thicker lower half, and you’re like ‘How does this guy steal 30 bases?’ And he can fly.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering his confident nature and success early in his career, Segura came to the Mariners with a bit of a reputation. The Mariners have an ace up their sleeve, though, in fellow Dominican Robinson Cano, who Segura has long looked up to and already had a friendly relationship with before coming to Seattle.

“He likes playing the game. He’s not all that much into practice, which I’m OK with,” Servais said of Segura through a laugh. “Robbie’s really been a good influence on Jean. I think just the little things about getting him to buy in on our programs immediately, when Robbie goes, ‘Hey, go see Cliffy in the weight room, this is what we do,’ Jean goes right in there. That’s great. He’s got trust in it, and Robbie obviously has bought in to our program and what we’re doing here, so it’s huge.”

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