3:50pm: The breakdown of Segura’s extension is provided by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Segura receives a $3MM signing bonus, $9MM in 2018, and then salaries of $14.25MM in each season from 2019-2022. The 2023 club option is worth $17MM, with a $1MM buyout.
12:37pm: The Mariners announced on Wednesday that they’ve locked up shortstop Jean Segura on a five-year contract extension that includes a club option for the 2023 season. The deal will reportedly guarantee the CAA Sports client a total of $70MM over the next five seasons and include full no-trade protection.
“Over the past two seasons, Jean has been one of the premier offensive players in baseball,” said GM Jerry Dipoto in a statement announcing the extension. “His combination of average, power and speed is extremely difficult to find, especially as a top-of-the-lineup hitter at a key defensive position like shortstop. We are all quite excited about having him here with the Mariners and believe he is a key ingredient in our ongoing effort to build a championship level roster.”
The 27-year-old Segura, currently on the disabled list with a minor ankle injury, entered play Wednesday pacing the American League with a .341 average. In addition to that excellent mark, he’s posted a .391 on-base percentage and slugged .462 through 198 plate appearances in his first year as a Mariner. Seattle acquired Segura from the Diamondbacks alongside Mitch Haniger and minor league lefty Zac Curtis in exchange for right-hander Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte this offseason.
Segura is already earning $6.2MM this season and, of course, would stand to earn a significant raise upon that salary via arbitration in 2018 before hitting the open market in advance of his age-29 season. With a rough assumption of a would-be $9-10MM salary via that arbitration process this winter, the Mariners secured Segura’s first four free agent seasons for a rough annual value of about $15MM.
Extensions for a player in his service class are relatively rare — especially at this point of the year — though recent examples include Salvador Perez’s five-year, $52MM deal and Brandon Crawford’s six-year, $75MM contract (as shown in MLBTR’s Extension Tracker). Segura doesn’t have the consistent track record that a number of his peers that have secured long-term deals in this service class have had.
Back in 2013, Segura had a terrific sophomore season with the Brewers, hitting .294/.329/.423 with 12 homers and 44 stolen bases through 623 plate appearances. However, that was followed up with a pair of down seasons, during which he suffered the tragic loss of his infant son. A change of scenery that sent Segura to the D-backs in exchange for Chase Anderson and prospect Isan Diaz led to a resurgence for the one-time top prospect. Segura was sensational in his lone year with the Diamondbacks, slashing .319/.368/.499 with 20 homers and 33 steals.
From a long-term perspective, the Mariners are reasonably well-equipped to handle a significant extension. Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager are the only players under club control beyond the 2018 campaign. Segura now joins that core, and the presumptive increase in his salary that will begin with his free-agent years will coincide with the departure of Nelson Cruz, Marc Rzepczynski and Drew Smyly in free agency. The Mariners will also see Steve Cishek, Carlos Ruiz, Danny Valencia and Jarrod Dyson depart via free agency after the 2017 season. Not including the yet-unreported terms of Segura’s extension, the Mariners have committed just under $72MM to their 2019 payroll and just $43.5MM committed to the 2020 payroll.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network and FOX Sports first reported the two sides were close to a deal (Twitter link). Hector Gomez of Z 101 in Santo Domingo tweeted the agreement and the terms of the deal. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported that Segura would receive a full no-trade clause (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Heck Yes!
BOOOOOOMMMM!!! Good Job JD!!!!
Boom!
Great player. Always had been…had a bit of down time in Milwaukee, but has always shown he has this kind of talent. Solid move by Seattle.
I think his down time has been greatly overblown. I mean I seriously doubt anyone that loses a child performs very well at work for a while afterwards. That is the worst thing that can happen to a person, so it is excusable if his mind wasn’t completely on being a baseball player.
100% agree
Well said. I also think he was able to gather his confidence back upon his trade to Arizona and also with his offseason training plan with Cano.
Now if we can get can Cruz locked up for a couple more years, and Felix can pitch at least good enough to be a number two starter behind Paxton maybe we can compete a little longer. I’m still concerned that we don’t really have any farm at all besides Kyle Lewis.
Andrew Moore?
His ceiling is a number 3 starter.
I don’t even know who he is. However, I think there’s a possibility that he’s maybe better than a three. Probably not likely, but I’m not a fan of putting a ceiling on a pro athlete.
Actually more like a #4. But I’ll take that. He’s better than Gaviglio for sure and should be called up the moment another spot becomes available. I love Moore. He doesn’t really on a heavy fastball, so he’s had to LEARN to how to Pitch! He’s got great command and could be a very nice addition to this organization.
This is good for a few reasons: It sounds like his injury isn’t serious, and he’s already been good for over the length of one whole season, plus his good year with the Brewers. Also, it shows Dipoto isn’t afraid to spend money on retaining important pieces of the core. I’d hope Paxton was next, but it’s more of a pipe dream as he’s a Boras client. But, he has a pretty large injury history; so maybe there’s a number that will get it done.
Anyway, this is awesome, and I’m sure Robinson Cano had a hand or two in assisting this due to him and Seg’s close relationship in and outside of the game itself. Segura has been quoted that playing along side him is “A dream come true.”
Just make sure you get back to being good on the base paths, Jean. It’s been a little odd this season. Go M’s!
We’re good on Paxton. He’s controlled a few more seasons and has yet to show he can stay healthy. Don’t want to shell out $100M+ with huge question marks.
Good move- glad he and Haniger will be at the top of our line-up through and beyond 2020.
And nothing behind it.
Is this Geoff Baker’s user name? Art Thiel maybe?
We are not a rebuilding team! Why do we need depth?! Yes it’s important to have of course, but we are built for contending. The draft is coming, restock the farm then. So many people are worried about the farm. We do not have a TON of albatross contracts hanging around our necks like the Angels, Thank God!!
Sign any good contract you can.
Player, executive, or scout. Older or younger. Rebuild or not.
Good contracts lead to good results.
Since the start of the 2016 season, Seattle’s 3-4-5 hitters — Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager — have posted wRC+ of 136, 149 and 124, respectively. No team can match those numbers. The Mariners this year are third in the league in wRC+ after finishing second last year.
Might be a slight overpay but might also end up a steal if he stays consistent…
Overpay? This is about as team friendly as it gets. He puts up 10 WAR over the next five years and it easily favors the M’s.
How can you not find a picture of Jean Segura in a DBacks uniform? HOW HARD IS THAT? STOP BEING LAZY!!
What?
Why would you want to?
No kidding, does he think he’s still a D’Back?
Jean Segura plays for the Mariners.
Segura was traded to the Mariners this offseason… as the post clearly states/recaps….
He currently leads the American League in hitting.
JD….. please find your L below:
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As the Angels watch one of their former top prospects beat them in Seattle and the pitcher they acquire pitch for Arizona (a frequent former trade partner).
They landed Greinke.
Stop it.
Well good thing Anaheim still has one 2012 former top prospect kicking around somewhere… He was doing alright, whoever he is.
Good ball player. Good idea. The Dominicans made a mistake in the WBC not playing Segura over Reyes.
Good to see this extension. Jean is a nice man and a very hard worker. He has been through quite a bit the last three years. Losing a child is about the most difficult experience a person can face. That Jean has percevered with the support of his family is a real tribute to him and the people closest to him.
Talk about getting the guy they wanted and locking him up