Jean Segura’s feeling about the Phillies finally pays off with his first playoff berth

ST. LOUIS — Jean Segura had a decision to make in the offseason of 2018. He recently signed a five-year contract extension with the Mariners in 2017 but things had soured. Segura had a no-trade clause in his contract, but told his agent, Nez Balelo, that he wanted to go somewhere else.

So Balelo started to explore the market. A few teams were interested, but one stood out among the others. Segura remembers watching Phillies highlights on MLB Network and thinking, “this is a team that is close to making the playoffs.” It was an ironic thought to have, given that the Phillies had the second-longest playoff drought in baseball, after the Mariners, at the time. But Segura saw potential.

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The Mariners traded Segura — along with Juan Nicasio and James Pazos — to the Phillies in December 2018, for J.P. Crawford and Carlos Santana. He arrived at the Phillies spring training home in Clearwater, Fla., a few months later, 30 years old with parts of seven big-league seasons behind him. He’d made two All-Star Games and earned a few MVP votes in 2016, the same year he led the National League in hits. But he felt there was a missing piece.

“For awhile, I felt like I was never going to make the playoffs,” Segura said. “Because the way the game is right now, slugging, on-base percentage, I’m one of those guys who is more bat-to-ball skills. Those guys don’t have much opportunity in the game. I decided to come here because they weren’t far away from making it. And now, fortunately, we did.”

The Phillies ended their own 10-season playoff drought and Segura broke through himself. He was baseball’s active leader in games played (1,328) without making the playoffs before the Phillies clinched a spot in the postseason on Monday. He will make his playoff debut on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the Phillies’ wild-card series.

Segura was never known as being a clubhouse leader in his previous stops. But in Philadelphia, especially this season, that has changed. He has helped newcomer Edmundo Sosa at the plate and become a mentor for rookie shortstop Bryson Stott. He likes to call Stott and third baseman Alec Bohm his “youngsters,” and is frequently checking in on them.

Segura said he does all of this with the postseason in mind.

“We’re going to need them down the stretch,” he said. “It’s a big run. Regardless of making the postseason, we still have a lot of work to do. We still have a lot of games left. And we still have a lot of good teams to beat, starting on Friday.

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“I would have loved to have somebody like they have right now when I was coming up. I help them out with whatever they want. Sometimes, they don’t even have to come to me, I come to them, because I know how hard this game is. And I know it can be even harder when nobody is coming to you and giving you advice.”

The last four seasons have been a stark departure from his time spent in Seattle. Initially, Segura loved it. He and his wife bought a house in the area, with the intention of staying for five or six years. It’s why Segura signed the five-year contract extension in mid-2017.

But then something changed. Segura said he saw a social media post from a front office employee that contained disparaging comments towards Latino players. It made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

“I told my agent ‘Get me out of Seattle,’” Segura said. “Because it was a lot of negativity. I saw bad comments about the Latin players, the culture of the Latin players, especially Dominicans. That we are dumb, that we are not smart, that we don’t have an education.

“For me personally, I felt like it wasn’t the right place for me. I don’t feel good here. And then they started to trade everybody — [Robinson] Cano, [Edwin] Diaz — right there, that’s a sign that they probably don’t want Latin players.

“As a player, as a person, to be working for an organization that has someone publishing that type of comment, I don’t feel good about it. I’m Dominican. Me and my family came here and made money. I think my family is more important than that.”

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Segura doesn’t remember which front office person shared the social media post, but said that all of the Latin players on the Mariners were aware of it. The Mariners did not respond to a request for comment.

Regardless, Segura is happy that the Mariners ended their 21-year playoff drought this season. He sees an organization that is in a much better place than when he left it four years ago. But in Philadelphia, he believes he has found the place he’s supposed to be long-term.

Segura has a $17 million team option for 2023. He is 32 and there is a very real chance that the Phillies don’t bring him back. But he said he’s the happiest he’s ever been in Philadelphia, and would like to stay.

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“I would love it,” Segura said. “I know that’s a tough decision for them, I understand. But I would love to finish my career here. [I’m happier] not just because we got to the postseason, but because of the guys, the city, the staff. I would love to finish here, but if not, we’ll see who wants me and who doesn’t want me.”