The tear down of the Seattle Mariners continued with a second trade involving a former All-Star being completed on Monday.
The Mariners traded shortstop Jean Segura, right-handed reliever Juan Nicasio and left-handed reliever James Pazos to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for shortstop J.P. Crawford and first baseman Carlos Santana.
“Carlos Santana has been among the most durable players in the Big Leagues over the last 8 years and has been a fixture in the middle of lineups during that time,” Mariners G.M. Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “He gets on base, he does damage at the plate and is quite an underrated 1st baseman. J.P. Crawford gives us a young shortstop, who is very athletic and fills up the tool box; he hits, he runs, he plays defense, he throws, he has power. For the last 4 years running, he's been among the top-20 prospects in baseball.”
Segura had once been a central part of the Mariners future plans. After coming over in a trade with Mitch Haniger from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Segura signed a five-year, $70 million extension with the team in June, 2017. Now he's the latest member of the 2018 team to be dealt away as the franchise has elected to raze their short-term prospects with the hope of future success.
Now Segura, Robinson Canò and Edwin Dìaz - three of the team's four All-Star selections in 2018 - are wearing different uniforms. Canò and Dìaz were sent to the New York Mets in exchange for five players earlier on Monday.
Segura, who turns 29 in March, hit .304 with a .755 OPS, 29 doubles, three triples, 10 homers and 63 RBI in 144 games.
Crawford is the key acquisition in return for Segura. A once highly-touted prospect, Crawford has struggled to make the transition to the majors. He has appeared in 72 career games with the Phillies, batting .214 with three home runs, four triples, 10 doubles and 59 strikeouts in 187 at-bats.
Santana, 32, batted .229 last season - the worst mark of his nine-year MLB career despite moving to the National League - with 24 home runs, two triples, 28 doubles, 86 RBIs, 110 walks and 93 strikeouts in 560 at-bats. His on-base percentage of .352 was also a career low.
Since the end of the season, the Mariners have now traded away Canò, Dìaz, Nicasio, Pazos, Alex Colomé, James Paxton, Mike Zunino and Guillermo Heredia. Additionally, Nelson Cruz and Denard Span are free agents and wouldn't appear to factor into the plans of a team looking to rebuild its roster.
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 28: Jean Segura #2 of the Seattle Mariners watches the ball fly to right field, which would be dropped on an error by Nomar Mazara #30 of the Texas Rangers to score three in the second inning at Safeco Field on September 28, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)