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One thousand, three hundred and twenty-eight.
That’s how many career Major League Baseball games Jean Segura played before getting his first taste of the playoffs. It had been the longest active streak, until this season. In his fourth year with the Phillies, he (and JT Realmuto, who had the second longest active streak) finally made it to the promised land.
2022 Stats: .277/.336/.387, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 15.0 K%, 6.5 BB%, 105 wRC+, 1.8 fWAR
The Good
Before going down with a broken thumb on May 31, Segura was on track for an All-Star caliber season. In May, he slashed .307/.352/.446 with 31 hits, 4 homers, 7 stolen bases and 14 RBI.
The lack of playoff experience didn’t seem to affect Segura, as his first career playoff hit was a clutch go-ahead single in the ninth inning of game 1 against the Cardinals.
Jean Segura with a HUGE go-ahead hit in the 9th @Philliespic.twitter.com/r057RKVDtc
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 7, 2022
He was also the star of game 3 of the NLCS with his two-run, go-ahead single in the fourth inning and two outstanding defensive plays — making up for an error and being picked off of first base in the same game.
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Another aspect of Jean Segura’s season that maybe snuck under the radar was his relationship with rookie Bryson Stott. Segura took Stott under his wing, challenged him, had fun with him, mentored him, and helped him transition into an every-day MLB player.
A few weeks ago, Jean Segura gave Bryson Stott a challenge: why not go 10 AB using just your two-strike approach? Stott went 6-for-10.
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) August 22, 2022
Now, his two-strike approach is his all-the-time approach, and it's paying off. Stott is hitting .323/.353/.431 in Aug: https://t.co/RYwpNXVGzI pic.twitter.com/VDV7G3MFVU
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Jean Segura alley oops it to Bryson Stott BANG pic.twitter.com/dB2YuMDqH2
— FIFA Slime (@TerryFranconia) November 2, 2022
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The Bad
Segura missed all of June and July with a broken thumb and when he came back, he wasn’t as productive as he had been prior to the injury. His second half stats overall didn’t drop too much in comparison to the entire first half, but given how good he was just in the month of May, it was significant.
His injury and subsequent absence from the lineup for two months was also compounded by the loss of Harper for all of July and most of August.
The Future
The Phillies declined Segura’s 2023 option. I’m sure the door is open for a reunion in case they aren’t able to sign one of the top free agent shortstops, but the most likely case is that Segura will be headed elsewhere.
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