Didi Gregorius, Phillies Reportedly Agree to 2-Year, $28M Contract

Shortstop Didi Gregorius is staying with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The 30-year-old agreed to a two-year contract to remain in Philadelphia on Saturday, according to Jayson Stark of The Athletic.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic added the deal is worth $28 million.

This comes after Gregorius signed a one-year, $14 million pact with Philadelphia for the 2020 campaign. He appeared in all 60 games and slashed .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI.

It was an impressive bounce-back performance through the uncertainty that hovered over the COVID-19-shortened season. While Philadelphia missed the playoffs, the Dutchman showed the 2019 season was more of an anomaly than a worrisome sign.

Gregorius appeared in just 82 games in 2019 for the New York Yankees because of Tommy John surgery and was not his usual self at the dish, posting a .238/.276/.441 slash line. That it came after the best stretch of his career was all the more notable.

He also played for the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks early in his career but was at his best for the Yankees from 2016 through 2018. He tallied at least 20 home runs in each of those three seasons after rarely showing power in his first four years in the league.

Gregorius also played head-turning defense and was responsible for eight defensive runs saved at shortstop in 2017.

That effort stood in sharp contrast to the rest of his career considering he has never had another season with better than three defensive runs saved at shortstop and is at minus-seven since entering the major leagues, per FanGraphs.

Gregorius will be 31 years old when the 2021 season begins, and he showed he is still in his prime as a hitter even if he may never return to the fielder he was during the middle of his time with the Yankees.

He will look to be a key offensive force for Philadelphia again as he aims to add to his 28 career postseason games.