The NL East has turned into a real dogfight. In case you missed it, the Phillies acquired All-Star shortstop Jean Segura from the Seattle Mariners. The full details of the trade include the Phillies sending away JP Crawford and Carlos Santana for Segura, James Pazos, and Juan Nicasio. I think we learned one thing from this trade and I was wrong to think otherwise. It’s time to take the Philadelphia Phillies seriously.
I still don’t know if Matt Klentak is a good gm. I just don’t. At the trade deadline this past year, he was foolish to give up prospects for a team that wasn’t ready for prime time. Sending a quality arm for a rental in the form of Asdrubal Cabrera was just stupid. The Phillies owner even came out with a baffling comment saying they will consider spending so much money that they might even be ‘stupid’ about it. However, stealing Jean Segura away from the Mariners was a huge win for the Phillies.
Jean Segura is one of the most underrated players in baseball. This guy is just flat out good and no one gives him any credit. Segura ranked first among shortstops in average a year ago (.304). He has hit at least .300 in three straight years. He has stolen at least 20 bags in 6 straight years. Segura walks plenty (.341 OBP). Segura rarely strikes out (69 K’s in 632 plate appearances). What more do you want? This isn’t just one of the best shortstops. This is one of the best players in baseball.
Credit to the Phillies. They accomplished four things in this trade. First, they rid themselves of Carlos Santana allowing the move of Rhys Hoskins back to first base. Second, they acquired an All-Star infielder. Third, they added a quality reliever in James Pazos to eat innings (2.88 ERA – 50 innings in 2018). Fourth, JP Crawford is ass so they gave up nothing.
The Phillies needed to upgrade defensively. Rhys Hoskins was the worst defensive outfielder in baseball last year. The Phillies were also the worst defensive team in baseball with a whopping -146 defensive runs saved. That’s disgusting in a bad way. The Carlos Santana deal for that reason never made sense. The fact that they never had to eat any of the $40 million owed to him over the next two years is a miracle. Santana was a 1.7 WAR player hitting just .229 on the season with 24 homers. Don’t ask me how they turned that into Segura. Killed two birds with one stone.
Also, JP Crawford STINKS. He’s awful. There are no kind words you can possibly say about him. He can field. Big deal. Crawford was the Phillies opening day shortstop in 2018 and fell on his face. Crawford, 23, is a career .214 hitter in 187 plate appearances. There’s zero pop in the bat. He also struck out 59 times in that span. It gets worse. In 12 rehab games in A ball, he hit .143. In 68 at-bats in AAA, he hit .259. Since 2016 at any level, Crawford’s best showing was in AA in 16 when he hit .243 in 36 games. Crawford is a depreciating asset that flat out sucks. Forgot the fact that he was a former top prospect. The guy flat out stinks and has next to no confidence.
The NL East is competitive as ever and Jean Segura gives the Phillies a huge upgrade in the middle of their infield. Are the Phillies the favorites in the NL at this point? No, but landing Segura is a HUGE step in the right direction. Now we will have to wait and see what else Philadelphia has up their sleeves moving forward.
