Shortstop Didi Gregorius has reached an agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies. The contract is for one season, but the terms of the deal are not yet known. Joel Sherman of the New York Post was the first to report that the two sides were in agreement.
#Phillies are in agreement with Didi Gregorius
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 10, 2019
Philadelphia Phillies Sign Shortstop Didi Gregorius
Gregorius, heading into his age 30 season, spent the past five seasons manning shortstop for the New York Yankees. The Yankees had acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks by sending Shane Greene to the Detroit Tigers in a three-team deal in the 2014 offseason after Derek Jeter retired. The Yankees needed a replacement for their long-time shortstop, and they found a pretty good one
“King Didi” morphed into a steady presence while being a very good offensive shortstop. His time with the Yankees saw him hit .269/.313/.446. He also blasted 97 home runs in his five years to go along with 120 doubles. He, unfortunately, had Tommy John surgery back in October of 2018 which caused him to miss part of 2019.
Concerns?
His time in 2019 was a little underwhelming, but not terrible. He slashed .238/.276/.441 and slugged 16 home runs in 82 games. He did see a bit of a drop off compared to his previous career numbers, but the Phillies do not seem to be concerned with that. Gregorius came out strong when he returned from the disabled list, but slowed down considerably and ended his season in September with an abysmal .190/.247/.380 slash line.
The best news for the Phillies is that Gregorius should have a completely normal offseason. With that in mind, there is no reason to believe that he will not return to form. He was slowed down by the Tommy John surgery and the lingering effects of a shoulder injury from getting plunked in an August game with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gregorius will likely give the Phillies a great lefty bat to rely on and steady defense.
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