What Could have Been for the Miami Marlins Offseason Free Agent Signings

Now that we are really into the swing of the season in Mid May, teams can begin to take stock of the good or bad decisions they made this offseason. The Miami Marlins signed Jean Segura to a two-year contract worth $17 million and a team option for a third year. To date, Segura has been a bust, to say the least, as he is now drawing the ire of Marlins fans for his lack of production.

The 33-year-old Jean Segura last season for the Phillies hit 10 home runs and drove in 33 while stealing 13 bases in 98 games played. His slash line last season was good (.277/.336/.387 and OPS of .723) but is nowhere close to this year at .191/.239/.218 with an OPS of .457. To make matters worse, against left-handed pitching Segura is hitting .080 and against left-handed starting pitchers it's even worse at .032. Segura has yet to hit a home run this year and has only driven in three runs.

If the Marlins brass had the foresight to sign Brandon Drury as a power-hitting 3rd baseman instead of Segura things would be very different right now. Assuming both Drury and Marlins brass wanted to make a deal happen, Drury signed with the Los Angeles Angels for the exact same contract as Segura at 2 years for $17 million. Drury is also three years younger than Segura and is the veteran power hitter this Marlins lineup needs.

This season Drury is showing why he was signed quickly by the Angels with a slash line of .237/.276/.491 and an OPS of .768, all the while smashing seven home runs and driving in 19. The past 14 days for Drury have been a boon for the Angels as he has hit 6 of his 7 home runs and driven in 14 while batting .319. There certainly are plenty of other options the Marlins could have signed instead of Segura but this one really matches on all fronts and goes to show what could have been this offseason. Luis Arraez was a great deal made by the front office by contrast, and I know you can't win them all but I'm sure Marlins fans will agree, we want that Segura signing back.