The Seattle Mariners want Jean Segura to be their shortstop for the foreseeable future, reportedly agreeing to a five-year extension with the 27-year-old.
Jean Segura has continued his stellar play since the offseason trade that sent him from Arizona to the Seattle Mariners. The M’s didn’t waste much time locking up their new shortstop to a long-term deal. According to ESPN.com, the two sides agreed to a five-year, $70 million extension with a 2023 option worth $17 million.
Jon Morosi of FOX Sports first reported that Segura and the Mariners were getting close to a deal:
Sources: Jean Segura, #Mariners close to a multiyear contract extension. He is currently on the disabled list. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 7, 2017
As Morosi notes, Segura is currently on the disabled list with a right high ankle sprain expected to keep him out until the end of June. Seattle evidently feels confident that the issue will not be a lingering one and moved ahead with the contract negotiations. When Segura has been on the field this year, he’s been a dynamo with the bat.
In 43 games, Segura boasts a fearsome .341/.391/.462 slash line with four home runs and 20 RBI. His batting average currently leads the American League, and his 1.4 fWAR is seventh among all major league shortstops. Along with second baseman Robinson Cano and DH Nelson Cruz, Segura has been a key offensive contributor on a team showing signs of waking from its early-season slumber.
He’s also suggesting that his standout 2016 campaign for the Diamondbacks was no fluke. Segura led the National League last year with 203 hits. He turned in a .319/.368/.499 slash line and displayed some unprecedented pop with 20 homers and 64 RBI. It was a real breakout performance from a player who until that point owned a career .266/.301/.360 line (81 OPS+).
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However, with Segura coming up on arbitration and eligible for free agency following 2018, the D-Backs (who were coming off 93 losses and seemed destined for an extensive rebuild) elected to sell high on the infielder and dealt him to the M’s for Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte.
By investing in him through at least the 2022 season, Seattle is betting that Segura’s current level of production is indeed for real. It’s worth noting that he has benefited from a significantly elevated BABIP (batting average on balls in play) the past two years. Last season Segura maintained a .353 BABIP, and this year he’s working with a .395 mark. That likely won’t continue indefinitely, but Segura could be a player who has better-than-average success on balls in play.
His defense isn’t much to write home about; Segura has -3 DRS (defensive runs saved) at shortstop on the season. The Mariners will likely want to see him use his speed more effectively as well. Segura is 7-for-13 in stolen base attempts so far in 2017 after averaging 30 steals per year over the past four seasons.
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However, having turned just 27 in March, Segura is still a young player with plenty of prime years ahead of him. The M’s want him to spend those years in Seattle, and they’ve secured him at a largely agreeable rate.
Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs.