Philadelphia Phillies: 3 trade partners for Jean Segura

Can the Philadelphia Phillies land a top of the rotation starter and shed money?

The Cincinnati Reds are in a weird place this offseason coming off a brief, two-game playoff appearance against the Atlanta Braves. They’re expected to lose Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer and after several free agent splashes, they’re reportedly looking to dump salaries and sell young players.

At the same time, the Reds have Mike Moustakas, Nicholas Castellanos, Joey Votto, Tucker Barnhart, Nick Senzel, and others very good bats for David Bell to fill in the lineup with.

If Cincinnati and Philadelphia are looking to balance the budget and compete, they could swap Segura, Sonny Gray, and other arms.

Gray and Segura have similar contracts in terms of structures, but Segura is making about $10 million more. Both have $1 million trade bonuses and options for the 2023 season. Gray also has performance escalators that would potentially balance out the salaries even more.

Segura would fill the shortstop position where Freddy Galvis once was or play at second if Mike Moustakas is traded. The same can be said with third base if Cincinnati moves Eugenio Suarez.

Adding Segura would also help Cincinnati’s ability to get on base after finishing with the National League’s third-worst on-base percentage of .312. While his batting average has been a rollercoaster, Segura’s on-base percentage has remained at .340 over the last four seasons, including a .323 season two years ago.

Fiscally it’s not the perfect marriage if both the Phillies and Reds are looking to cut salaries, but there are ways they can at least balance it out or one team gets the money for a better return on the field. If the Phillies could add a pitcher or prospects and the Reds can add another veteran infielder to their lineup, it could make a lot of baseball sense for both sides.