Jean Segura – Shortstop, ~$500,000
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jean Segura‘s loss is the Milwaukee Brewers and this articles gain. After his breakout 2013 season — his first full one in MLB — the club offered their starting shortstop a long-term deal that would have been worth six-years and $38 million. Segura was coming off of making $492,000 in 2013, but still declined the offer. He settled for a $534,000 salary in 2014 and experienced a number of setbacks.
Compared to hitting .294/.329/.423 in 2013, last year he slashed only .246/.289/.614, stole 24 fewer bases and recorded 82 less total bases despite playing in the same number of games (146). To be fair, Segura suffered a personal tragedy in July of 2014 when his nine-month-old son passed away, resulting in him being placed on the bereavement list.
All things considered, this will now be his final season of pre-arbitration status. Due to the weight he played with hanging over him last season and his sharp 2013 campaign, Segura should be a strong bounce back candidate who now has to either play for another potential long-term contract offer after the 2015 season, or a substantial pay raise in arbitration.