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Jon Heyman has reported via Twitter that the Seattle Mariners have reached an agreement on an extension with shortstop Jean Segura.
Segura and m's agree at $70M for 5 years
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 7, 2017
The club has not yet confirmed the signing.
The Mariners acquired Segura from the Arizona Diamondbacks back in November of last year in exchange for starting pitcher Taijuan Walker and shortstop Ketel Marte.
Though he has been a bit snakebitten by injury this year — Segura is currently on the 10-day DL with an ankle sprain, his second DL stint this year after missing 12 games earlier this year with a hamstring issue — Seattle has clearly seen enough good play in Segura’s 43 games with the club to approach him about an extension. At the time of his most recent injury, Segura was tied for the American League lead in batting average at .341, part of a terrific 2017 slash of .341/.391/.462. He now leads the league in average as of this writing.
James Pazos's improved mechanics have helped make him great
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The Mariners acquired the lefty in the offseason to bolster their bullpen, and he's been one of its most reliable members.
Segura has simply developed into a very capable major league bat. After breaking in with the Los Angeles Angels and Milwaukee Brewers in 2012, Segura has consistently shown a patient approach at the plate. The 27 year-old sports a fantastic career swinging-strike rate of just 7.2 percent, which has helped him strike out in just 14.2 percent of his plate appearances, though he is a bit allergic to free passes with a career 4.6 walk rate.
Things were not always so rosy for Segura, who posted a middling .266/.301/.360 slash over his first four seasons from 2012 through 2015. 2016 saw a breakthrough campaign for him, as he led the National League in at-bats (637) and hits (203). He notched his first year with a batting average over .300 (.319), and saw a 163 point uptick in OPS (.867) over 2015. He got there on the backs of 41 doubles, and with 10 this season, he he could replicate that if he stays healthy.
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto is known as one of the more “free-wheeling” executives working in baseball today, but the decision to extend Jean Segura could end up working out much better than any of his many recent trades.