After going unsigned into the 2024 MLB season, Jean Segura has signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. The veteran infielder has been out of baseball for a year, being released by the Cleveland Guardians at the beginning of August last year.
It’s shocking to see this move made this late in the season, considering Segura hasn’t played any official games or winter leagues during the offseason. He’s been back in his native country, the Dominican Republic, working out and spending time with his family via his social media accounts.
This past May, he was traded to the Leones del Escogido from the Gigantes del Cibao for two minor league players and a pick from the 12th round of the 2024 LIDOM Draft.
The two-time MLB All-Star, Segura has had a stellar career in 12 big league seasons, playing with the Angels, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Phillies, and Marlins. Throughout his major-league career so far, Segura has a career .281 average, 110 home runs, 211 stolen bases, and a career fielding percentage of .969.
Segura originally signed with the Angels in 2007 out of the Dominican Republic. In his MLB Debut and only game with the Angels, he would go 0-3, striking out twice. He was then traded to the Milwaukee Brewers along with two other prospects for Zack Greinke.
He would play well with the Brewers for three seasons, making his first All-Star appearance in 2013, where he hit .294. He would then be traded in the 2015 offseason to the D-Backs and again the following offseason to the Mariners for Ketel Marte and Taijuan Walker. After two years there, Segura was shipped off to the Phillies during the 2018 offseason, where he went on to spend four seasons, hitting .281 and helping the Phillies get to the World Series in 2022. He became a free agent at season’s end and signed with the Miami Marlins.
His Marlins career was by far Segura’s most difficult season at the plate. Only playing in 85 games, he would only put up three home runs and 21 RBIs, only hitting for a .219 average; during the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline, the Marlins flipped Segura and top prospect Kahlil Watson to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for power-hitting first baseman Josh Bell.
The Guardians immediately released Segura on the same day they traded for him without playing a game. Cleveland would rely on rookies Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, and Tyler Freeman at the shortstop position.
It will be great to see Jean Segura get his at-bats in the minor leagues and to see how he fairs out with the current competition after a year off. The Orioles are currently tied for first place in the A.L. East division with the Yankees and it will be a test for Segura to see if he can get up to speed and ultimately help the Orioles secure the A.L. East division on their playoff run.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Jean Segura #9 of the Miami Marlins fields his position against the Colorado Rockies at loanDepot park on July 21, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images)
