If he just replicates his first year of 105 OPS+ he'll be a vast improvement on the SS sinkhole. I don't expect him to hit 20 homers here, especially because I can't guarantee the ball is going to be juiced again, but his hitting was razor-sharp for the season. Yes, Segura got "lucky" in BABIP last year. Altuve gets "lucky" in BABIP every year, as did Edgar. Segura's career BABIP is .314 - he's had multiple "luck years" which means they might not be just luck after all.
Pitching is volatile, and Taijuan has already had multiple injury concerns (shoulder, then foot). DiPoto cashed him in - these things happen. I tend not to like buying players based off a career year, but if somebody had offered me Jose Altuve after his breakout age-24 year I would have assumed he'd fall back to around that 105 OPS+ original landing year that both he and Segura had. Segura made mechanical changes that allowed him to have more success, and has his head back in the game.
It's a scouting call on Segura, whom DiPoto has known for a while. The Mariners sent out the most valuable piece in the deal, which is why they got 3 players back. If DiPoto is right on Segura it will be a thing of beauty even if Jean's defense isn't world-class at SS. Jeter's wasn't either, and neither was Marte's by a long shot.
Seattle's infield could be really special next year. If Zunino just hits .250 it would be pretty amazing. And their outfield got more interesting by adding Haniger too. Mitch was a first-round pick - it's not like people didn't see talent in him, he just got slowed by wrist injuries. If DJ Peterson put up the last year that Haniger did we'd we losing our minds about it. And again - he doesn't HAVE to hit like Matt Carpenter for it to be a good add. Nori Aoki hit .280 /.350 /.390, and in CF Leonys Martin put up his standard .250 /.300/ .380. I think Haniger can play CF, so that's the bar.
He's another guy that processed some swing changes and reaped the rewards. We have a batting coach who seems to get the best out of his players, and interestingly we dump the ones he DOESN'T get more out of. If the Mariners have implemented some sort of Edgar Rule, where if he can't fix you then you can't be fixed, I'll be even more impressed.
I like Haniger more than Gamel, I think that's obvious. But DiPoto didn't go either or, he added both and some other bats like Vogelbach and even Shaffer besides. He kept O'Neill. He wants a wealth of MLB-ready youngsters to choose from, and now he has them. He added a SS hitting star and a cheap scrub who could wind up being a starter-quality hitter.
Walker was a steep price but at least this time the Montero-level bat is the throw-in.
And did anybody mention that Segura is Dominican, like Cano and Cruz? If comfort level is important, then they should help make the kid as comfortable in the unfriendly confines of Safeco as he can possibly be. I've said before that DiPoto needed a signature move. This would be the first major bet he's placed. I hope it pays off because it could be great for us.
And now we need a bit more pitching. Where's Mike Montgomery when you need him? Oh that's right - hi Vogelbach!
Man, I hope a couple of these kids can really hit...