By Theo DeRosa, Sports Talk Philly staff
A Jean Segura trade from the Seattle Mariners to the Philadelphia Phillies has been agreed to in principle, according to a report Sunday night by USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
The Seattle #Mariners and Philadelphia #Phillies have agreed in principal to a trade that will send Jean Segura to the Phillies for shortstop J.P. Crawford that involved other players as well. The deal will be announced Monday. @Ken_Rosenthal first that they were in serious talks
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 3, 2018
The deal will feature J.P. Crawford and other players, with the others likely prepared to head to Seattle.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, who previously reported the Phillies' interest in Segura and the Seattle Mariners' preference for J.P. Crawford in a possible trade return, updated the talks on Sunday, saying Seattle and Philadelphia were in "serious talks on a trade" that would send Segura to Philadelphia.
The deal won't go through until the blockbuster deal with the New York Mets, sending Robinson Canó and Edwin Díaz to Queens for Jay Bruce, Jarred Kelenic and others, is complete.
Once Cano-Diaz to #Mets is official, #Mariners have next deal lined up. Team is in serious talks on a trade that would send shortstop Jean Segura to Philadelphia, sources tell The Athletic. Segura holds full no-trade clause, and would need to approve the deal. H/t @agsnetworks.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 3, 2018
Segura, a two-time All-Star, will bring a high batting average to the Phils' shortstop position, something the Phillies haven't had since the days of Jimmy Rollins. He owns a career . 287 batting average and hit .304 with the Mariners in 2018. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Segura was worth 4.3 wins above replacement in 2018; Scott Kingery had a mark of -1.5. Replacing Kingery with Segura at short would be a clear upgrade for the Phillies.
As for the return, it remains to be seen what more than Crawford it has taken to land Segura from Seattle. If the Mariners tried to unload another large contract — that of 3B Kyle Seager, who struggled mightily in 2018, it could drive down the Phillies' price.
NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury reported the Phils' desire to land Segura could mean that, should the team sign free-agent infielder Manny Machado, Segura would man shortstop and Machado would play third base, where he has better defensive numbers.
This left side of the infield — at least, Segura's part — isn't far from reality. On Segura's Instagram post wishing Canó luck with the Mets, Canó left a comment that included the words, "You next."
