Former Phillies Friday: Jean Segura having nightmarish first season in Miami

Jean Segura has struggled in his first season with the Marlins. (Cheryl Pursell/Phillies Nation)

For as disappointing as Trea Turner’s first season with the Philadelphia Phillies has been to this point, Jean Segura — the man he essentially replaced — hasn’t done anything to make president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski regret moving on from him.

Segura had a key hit in a comeback win over the San Diego Padres earlier this week, but that was the rare positive moment in what’s really been a struggle for the two-time All-Star so far with the Miami Marlins:

Entering play Friday, Segura is slashing .201/.262/.231 with zero home runs and eight RBIs in 49 games. His -1.0 WAR is the worst mark among all qualified position players in the National League, according to FanGraphs. The only player with a worse mark in baseball is former American League MVP José Abreu, who has a -1.1 WAR in his first season with the Houston Astros.

While Segura was primarily a second baseman with the Phillies, he shifted to third base upon signing with the Fish, a position that he generally looked serviceable at when he played there for 179 2/3 innings in 2020. But a full-time move to the hot corner hasn’t gone well for the long-time middle infielder, as Segura has -5 defensive runs saved and -1 outs above average in 409 1/3 innings at third base in 2023.

Segura signed a two-year/$17 million deal with the Marlins last December. For a team like the Phillies, such a pact would become a Scott Kingery-esque write-off if Segura was struggling this much. But for a Marlins front office that’s typically limited in the budget it’s handed by ownership, it’s fair to say that there’s probably some buyer’s remorse from general manager Kim Ng on a deal that is slated to pay Segura $8.5 million in 2024.

The good news for the Marlins is that they are 29-28, currently tied with the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates

for the third and final Wild Card spot in the NL. But the -54 run differential that the Marlins have suggest that their winning record isn’t sustainable, and while Segura alone can’t make up that difference, he’s at the forefront of players that Miami needs more from.