Phillies send J.P. Crawford, Carlos Santana to Seattle for Jean Segura

UPDATE, 5:22 PM:

Deal’s official, per Rosenthal.

FROM EARLIER:

The deal that went from a simmer to a boil late on Sunday night seems to be reaching its final state, with the Phillies apparently sending no money to the Mariners.

Middle infielder Jean Segura, presumed to be the Phillies shortstop but who also has spent a significant chunk of time at second base, is headed to the Phillies in the team’s first big trade of the off-season.

Here’s how it’s looking prior to either team’s confirmation:

Phillies get:

Jean Segura, SS: The Mariners’ 2018 all-star shortstop, a talented defender up the middle and easily one of the biggest bats in the 2019 Phillies lineup so far.

Over the last three years, Segura has batted .308/.353/.449 with an OPS of .803, 41 HRs, 100 doubles and 75 stolen bases. He plays an average defensive shortstop, which is an improvement over the production the team got at the position last year. Segura was worth 4.3 bWAR last season. Last year, his home/road splits were are notable, with an OPS of .806 away from Safeco Field, at home it was .703. But in 2017 he had an OPS of .822 at home and .734 on the road.

The happy dance Segura was seen doing in his car earlier may be related to the one million dollars he gets for waiving his no-trade clause to come to Philadelphia.

Juan Nicasio, RHP: The 32-year-old reliever posted a 6.00 ERA in 46 appearances for Seattle in 2018. You may remember him for the one and third innings of shut-out baseball he pitched for the Phillies in 2016 after being selected off waivers. The Phillies flipped him to the Cardinals for minor leaguer Eliezer Alvarez.

James Pazos, LHP: Hold onto your hats, folks, this one here’s a indeed a fabled lefty. Pazos will turn 28 during the season, having trimmed a full point off his ERA (down to 2.88) in 2018 in just about the same number of appearances as 2017 (60). He handled about fifty innings of work out of the Seattle pen in each of the last two years, and has a mustache.

Mariners get:

J.P. Crawford, SS: I mean, you know J.P. He of the top prospect lists. He of the poor first half of 2017. He of “All it is is motivation.” He of the speed, defense, sneaky power, and extra base hits of which we’d dreamed. He of the Instagram account full of dire wolves. He of the whispered “issues” on the fringe of most discussions on his future. He whom we will have to watch develop elsewhere. Happy trails, J.P.

Carlos Santana, 1B: The on-base powerhouse the Phillies were apparently so humiliated to be trading after only a single season is gone, freeing up first base for Rhys Hoskins to come out of left field. Santana was a solid veteran presence and a guy who was, while not unhelpful, never quite the guy the Phillies needed to spark the offense.

UPDATE, 11:07 AM:

The Phillies know what they are willing to give up in this deal. That does not include, according to Jayson Stark, any of their young hurlers.

UPDATE, 10:20 AM:

The prospective deal is starting to take shape, and is in the “final stages of completion,” per Morosi. At the moment, it’s being said that Crawford and Santana will go to Seattle, while the Phillies get Segura and, according to Bob Nightengale, up and down reliever Anthony Swarzak. Still got some little stuff to finalize, like Segura’s no-trade clause (which he’s expected to waive, as stated below) and medical clearances.

It’s time to start talking about our post-trade plans.

UPDATE, 12:24 AM:

All that’s left for this deal are the doctor appointments, says Morosi. Well, that and the rest of the players involved beyond Segura and Crawford:

The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish says one of the other players is Carlos Santana.

FROM EARLIER:

Mariners GM Jerry DiPoto is ripping the copper wiring out of the walls in Seattle as the Mariners are in full-on tear down mode.

A week away from the MLB Winter Meetings in Washington, the Phillies reportedly have agreed on the players involved in a deal with the Mariners for shortstop Jean Segura (.304/.341/.415., 4.3 WAR in 144 G in 2018) that involves J.P. Crawford. Details about who the rest of the players are remain to be seen, and nothing is confirmed by the teams.

There were a few obstacles in place for a Phillies acquisition of Segura, but they appear to be no more: The 28-year-old didn’t make it into the blockbuster Mariners-Mets trade that is reported to be going down involving Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, and according to Jon Morosi, Segura is willing to waive his no-trade clause to come to Philly. If this deal should become official, the pieces appear to be falling into place for the first big Phillies move of the winter. And those pieces for this particular trade came together a bit quickly on Sunday night.

Obviously, this raises a few questions. When will J.P. Crawford become the shortstop he was projected to be in Philadelphia, and how badly will it sting? What would acquiring a starting shortstop do to the Phillies’ chances of landing Manny Machado (Jon Heyman says it doesn’t deter them, but they’ll be eyeing up Bryce Harper first anyway)? Where would Segura hit in Gabe Kapler’s lineup? Who would the Mariners be getting outside of Crawford in this deal (word is Carlos Santana could be involved)? And, most thrillingly, how much of a set up would this trade be for the Winter Meetings, just a week away, when things could get really wacky?

One thing that does not need to be questioned is why the Phillies would be after this particular shortstop.