The Philadelphia Phillies had a crucial decision on their hands after making some moves at the MLB trade deadline. With Jean Segura returning from the Injured List, the Phillies shockingly opted to cut ties with veteran shortstop Didi Gregorius, releasing him outright on Thursday, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The 32-year-old will become a free agent, able to latch on with any team, after his stint with the Phillies came to a premature end.
The Phillies released Didi Gregorius.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) August 4, 2022
Gregorius had been with the Phillies since 2020 after signing with the team in free agency following his four-year stint as the shortstop of the New York Yankees. He has struggled at the plate over the last two seasons, however, culminating in his release on Thursday.
In his first year in Philly, Gregorius slashed .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI during the 60-game COVID-shortened 2020 MLB season. He failed to replicate any semblance of that production in 2021, registering an OPS of .639 throughout 103 games.
This season, his numbers decreased further still. Across 63 games, Gregorius is slashing .210/.263/.304 with just a single home run and 19 RBI. He spent some time on the IL but returned in June, though his production at the plate failed to improve after being activated.
With Jean Segura making his long-awaited return from the 60-day IL, the Phillies have decided it was time to move on from the Didi Gregorius experiment, which hadn't yielded positive results in any of the past two seasons. Segura will likely resume his role as the starting second baseman while Bryson Stott figures to move over to shortstop as the Phillies push to gain some ground in the NL East, where they trail the Mets by 10 games and the Braves by 6.5.
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