Segura Expresses Remorse Over McCutchen Injury in 2019

Yesterday was what MLB Network Radio's Jeff Joyce calls "truth day".  When players return to camp, we sometimes hear the real story about events that happened the year before.  Didn't play well in September? The player now says there was a knee injury.  We now know the truth about the infamous Phillies play that ended in Andrew McCutchen tearing his ACL and losing the season: that affected infielder Jean Segura greatly.

That play was one in which Segura did not run out a ground ball, exposing McCutchen to a rundown.  In the rundown, McCutchen tore his ACL and would not play the rest of the season.

Segura told Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the injury affected Segura mentally as the season went on:

“It affected me mentally because one of my teammates went down because I didn’t run down the line," Segura said. "I thought about it a lot through the season. My body, my energy level went down. I was frustrated because at that time he was hot, he was leading off. I was hitting second. It was like a one-two punch right away.”

The numbers show a great difference.

So the Phillies, Segura, and McCutchen move on.

Segura, meanwhile, could move forward at a position new to him.  During drills yesterday, Segura manned third base, while Scott Kingery was at second base.  Many had assumed Segura would return to second base, where he once played with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a regular basis.  But with Alec Bohm looming in the minors and Segura bound to return to shortstop after Didi Gregorius completes his one-year deal, Segura could stay on the left side.

Segura told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com that he was willing to do whatever the team thought best in terms of his defensive alignment.  Segura, meanwhile, reported to camp 14 pounds lighter.  Segura said cutting whiskey out of his diet made him much healther.