Seattle Mariners Negative Nick & Positive Pete Discuss Segura Getting His Phil

It was a busy day for Mariners fans, Nick and Pete. And now they have to digest the controversial Jean Segura trade to Philadelphia.

NN: Pete, I’ve officially hit my wall. You can find me at the nearest bar to sulk because I am officially done as a Mariners fan.

PP: Seriously, Nick?

NN: Hello?! We just traded Segura, Nicasio, and Pazos to the Phillies. New shortstop JP Crawford doesn’t hold a candle to Jean! Aren’t you also upset that trading him away negates the brilliant Arizona trade Dipoto pulled off to acquire him?

PP: How are you now surprised after we already sold Cano, Paxton, and Diaz too?

NN: Because it is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Jean was special, with his consistent .300+ average. He regularly competed with Mike Trout in that category. He also proved himself on the national stage by hitting a go-ahead jack in last year’s Fall Classic. And Dipoto just ships him away?

PP: Nick, what part of a rebuild don’t you get? Rebuilds are tough to stomach but that’s the point, to shop the veterans. The veterans who as a team weren’t working well together. A rebuild is about going younger and planning for the longer term. JP is five years younger than Jean.

NN: Jean is still just 28 years old! If that’s baseball old then Nelson Cruz is Methuselah. And how much do we know about Crawford anyway?

PP: He hit for a high average in his A and AA years.

NN: But AAA is the highest level, and his average tanked once promoted there. And there’s nothing impressive about his .214 combined average as a pro so far. I’m also blinded by his career MLB slash line of .214/.337/.346.

PP: At least he’s young. No slouch either as a first-round draft pick in 2013.

NN: That was a long time ago, Pete. What’s taking him so long to get ready?

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PP: It takes time, Nick. At least he wasn’t prematurely called to the Majors like Zunino. And I like this kid’s build. He’s tall for a shortstop which is good for future power. He’s speedy as well with already four MLB triples and an in-the-park salami with Lehigh.

NN: You’re not worried that JP recently dropped 89 spots in Baseball America’s prospect list?

PP: No because you’ll be shocked to know even athletes are human. He’s made it to the big show, right?

NN: Well listen, my expectations are lower for the other new Mariner. Carlos Santana will either DH or platoon at first base with Ryon. We now have two low-average first basemen since Santana didn’t break .230 last year.

PP: At least he’s more experienced than both Healy and Vogelbach. Don’t forget his World Series resume with the 2016 Tribe. He also has pop.

NN: Well Ryon is still our incumbent first baseman until Carlos proves otherwise.

PP: I agree. But even though you’re ticked about Jean being traded, you never ditch your home team. Don’t forget that Jean was still part of last year’s collapse and is just one guy. And as turned out, he posted a video showing relief about leaving the Mariners.

NN: Can you blame him? This team’s been in rebuild since the prehistoric era.

PP: Doesn’t matter, that’s in poor taste towards the fans. Compare his reaction to Diaz’s. Edwin Diaz posted a heart-filled goodbye on his Twitter. Jean is a valuable player but we can’t control the fact that he’s not part of Dipoto’s new plans.

NN: I guess so, Pete. But let’s not pretend JP Crawford is on Jean’s level. He’ll need to hit for a higher average to win me over. At least we don’t have Juan Nicasio anymore.

PP: That’s the spirit, Nick. Nicasio was batting practice and James Pazos was a quality pitcher but specialty relievers are not hard to come by.