The Miami Marlins have reached an agreement with veteran infielder Jean Segura, according to the Miami Herald. The deal comes in at two years and $17 million. Marlins reporter Craig Mish says Segura will be Miami's Opening Day third baseman, displacing Joey Wendle. Segura will earn $6.5 million in 2023 and $8.5 million in 2024, and his contract includes a $10 million club option with a $2 million buyout for 2025.
Segura, 32, spent the previous four seasons playing against the Marlins as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. He batted .281/.337/.418 (102 OPS+) during that span, averaging 11 home runs and eight stolen bases per season. Those aforementioned marks are similar to his career numbers of .285/.330/.408 (100 OPS+) that he's amassed over 11 big-league seasons.
Segura entered the offseason ranked by CBS Sports as the 24th best free agent available on the open market. Here's what we wrote at the time:
In addition to being a good fielding second baseman, Segura has been a league-average or better hitter in six of his last seven seasons thanks to his feel for contact. He walks and bops just enough to keep him from having an empty line. Unfortunately, Segura is also a good bet to connect with the injured list: he's appeared in more than 150 games just once in his career, and he's missed 95 games combined the last two seasons. This may prove to be an overrank if his durability slides further.
The Marlins, who have been seeking offensive upgrades all winter, could slot Segura in at either second or third base, depending on what they intend to do with Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the aforementioned Wendle (both left-handed hitters). Despite Miami's aforementioned desire to improve their lineup, Segura marks the first addition they've made on that side of the ball all winter long.
The Marlins had previously made a few additions to their pitching staff, obtaining right-handed reliever J.T. Chargois from the Tampa Bay Rays and selecting fellow righty Nic Enright from the Cleveland Guardians as part of the Rule 5 Draft.
