Gregorius is the Phillies' Weakest Link

Didi Gregorius has continued a run of poor form since the beginning of the 2021 season. How is his play impacting the rest of the Phillies lineup?

Ben Silver | Apr 21, 2022

In 2020, Didi Gregorius signed a one-year, $14 million deal to be the Philadelphia Phillies shortstop. In nearly every facet, he excelled.

The Dutchman slashed .284/.339/.488 with perfectly competent defense at shortstop. Without anyone signed on to play the position regularly in 2021, the Phillies brought him back on a two-year, $28 million deal to be the bridge until Bryson Stott was ready for the majors.

It should have been a solid signing. Gregorius had been one of baseball's most consistent shortstops for the past five seasons, but if you look closer, the writing was on the wall from the beginning in 2020.

That year, Gregorius had his highest BABIP since since 2017, but the lowest average exit velocity of his career. Though his DRS was just -2 in a 60 game sample size, his Statcast OAA was -8, and the previous year it had been -19 at shortstop.

Gregorius was trending downwards, but perhaps new President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski felt pressured to sign someone who had performed so well in the past as he took the reins of the club.

Disastrous results ensued in 2021 and have continued to 2022. In 2021, Gregorius was one of baseball's worst defensive shortstops while posting an OPS+ of 71. His exit velocity increased by two mph, but his BABIP dropped to a career low .217.

As of April 2022, Gregorius' exit velocity has plummeted once again, this time to 81.4 mph, in the fourth percentile league-wide. According to both OAA and DRS, he's one of the league's worst defensive shortstops.

Though his OBP is a solid .342, it's inflated by two HBPs—an unrepeatable skill unless you're Chase Utley or Craig Biggio—and his walk-rate is a infinitesimal 2.6%.

The Phillies have four players who can play the left side of the infield, and none of them can be counted on to display offensive and defensive consistency: Bryson Stott, Didi Gregroius, Alec Bohm, and Johan Camargo.

So far, only Bohm and Camargo have been positive offensive players, but Bohm is one of MLB's worst defenders and Camargo is a good role player, but he's better suited to a bench role as he can't be counted on to continue his current level of offensive production.

Camargo is slashing .382/.417/.529 after a four-hit day in Colorado, but his BABIP is .414, though he does have a career-high exit velocity of 89.8.

Nevertheless, the Phillies need one of Gregorius or Stott to step up and fill a void at shortstop. It's unlikely Stott can be relied upon this year, as he seems overmatched by Major League pitching as evidenced by his league-low 82.2 mph average exit velocity and his current 0-for-17 streak.

Gregorius, however, needs to produce. His $14 million salary handicapped the Phillies this offseason in bolstering other areas of the team. Of course, his contract is dead weight now, but he's the sort of player who could take the Phillies from a good team to a great team, or even a decent team to a good team.

If Joe Girardi continues to bat him in the 6th and 7th spot in the lineup, his high launch angle/low exit velocity style of hitting is going to continue killing rallies moving forward.

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Published Apr 21, 2022

BEN SILVER

Ben Silver is deputy editor for Inside the Phillies. A graduate of Boston University, Ben formerly covered the Phillies for PhilliesNation.com. Follow him on Twittter @BenHSilver.