The Orioles announced that they have signed infielder Jean Segura to a minor league deal. The veteran has been out of affiliated ball for over a year, having been released by the Guardians at the start of August last year. He could perhaps report to Triple-A Norfolk shortly but may also go to another affiliate for a tune-up after his long layoff.
It’s a surprising signing that comes completely out of the blue. Not only has Segura not played any official games in the past year, he also wasn’t featured in any substantive offseason rumors, nor does it appear that he played in any winter or foreign leagues.
The absence comes on the heels of his worst career season. He hit .219/.277/.279 for a 52 wRC+ in 85 games for the Marlins last year, the first season of a two-year, $17MM deal that he signed with the Fish. He and Kahlil Watson were flipped to the Guardians for Josh Bell at the deadline, but the Guards immediately released Segura, indicating his inclusion was simply for financial reasons. No team signed Segura for the final two months or for 2024, until now.
Prior to his awful 2023 season, he had a lengthy run as a solid player in the big leagues. From 2016 to 2022, he got into 849 games between the Diamondbacks, Mariners and Phillies. He got to double-digit home runs in every full season of that stretch and had at least nine stolen bases in all of them. Overall, he hit 84 long balls and slashed .295/.345/.434 for a wRC+ of 107 while swiping 109 bases. He was gradually moved from shortstop to second base in that stretch, playing a bit of third base as well, and produced 21.9 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs.
Whether Segura can engineer a bounceback after his rough 2023 season and long stint away from the game is anyone’s guess, but there’s no real risk for the Orioles in trying. The Guardians are still on the hook for the final year of his contract, so the O’s would only have to pay Segura the prorated league minimum for any time he ultimately spends on their roster, which would be subtracted from what Cleveland pays.
Not too long ago, the Baltimore infield was characterized by having more good players than opportunities, but the situation has changed significantly in the past few weeks. They included Connor Norby in the Trevor Rogers deal and also saw Jordan Westburg and Jorge Mateo land on the injured list.
They still have a solid infield mix though third base is perhaps a little less impressive than the other spots. Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle are sharing first base while Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson have the middle spots covered. At the hot corner, Ramón Urías and Coby Mayo are the top options at the moment. Mayo just got called up but his first 15 major league plate appearances have resulted in a line of .000/.133/.000. Urías has a much better line of .234/.309/.364, though that still leads to a subpar 95 wRC+. Urías does have a strong defensive reputation but his numbers in that department are down this year: -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -6 Outs Above Average from the third base spot.
The O’s can take a close-up look at the veteran Segura in the coming weeks and see how it goes. Perhaps he can convince the club’s decision makers that he’s an upgrade over their current options or simply provide them with some non-roster depth in case another injury pops up in the coming weeks. He’ll be competing with guys like Terrin Vavra and Liván Soto, who are each on the 40-man roster but currently on optional assignment, as well as non-roster guys like Niko Goodrum, J.D. Davis and Nick Maton.