J.P. Crawford eventually proved to be mostly what the Philadelphia Phillies had hoped he would be: a superb defensive shortstop with on-base abilities and clubhouse leadership qualities.
Crawford was selected by the Phillies with the 16th overall pick in 2013. He was raised in the minor leagues, promoted to the majors in September 2017, and started at shortstop on the first day of the 2018 season.
Eight months later, they traded him in a five-player deal for Jean Segura while releasing Carlos Santana.
Since 2019, Segura has been reliable for the Phillies. However, if team officials denied wanting a second chance with Crawford, who batted.340 with four home runs and a.981 OPS despite having back spasms, they would fail a lie detector test.
He has a .282/.353/.399 batting line since the start of the previous campaign and has an OPS+ of 114, which puts him 11th among shortstops, just behind Bo Bichette (116) and Javier Báez (115), and well ahead of Didi Gregorius of the Phillies (76).
It makes sense that on opening day, the Mariners signed him to a five-year, $51 million contract extension.
The Phillies traded Crawford for a variety of factors. Crawford also admits that he’s not sure he would have been successful in Philadelphia, where he felt pressure to live up to expectations after being selected in the first round.
He stated that “getting traded was the best thing that’s ever happened to me” at the news conference held last month to announce his extension.
Who Did The Phillies Get In The JP Crawford Trade?
The Phillies had relievers James Pazos and Juan Nicasio and shortstop Jean Segura who they thought would strengthen their bullpen.