Phillies finalize $28M, 2-year deal with Didi Gregorius

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Shortstop Didi Gregorius and the Philadelphia Phillies finalized a $28 million, two-year contract on Wednesday.

Gregorius, who turns 31 next week, batted .284 with 10 homers, 40 RBIs and an .827 OPS in 60 games in his first season with the Phillies.

He hit .274 and averaged 20 homers and 75 RBIs with the New York Yankees from 2015-18. The left-handed hitting Gregorius had 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 82 games in 2019 after Tommy John surgery on Oct. 17, 2018, to repair a torn elbow ligament.

Gregorius has a .265 career batting average with 120 homers, 457 RBIs and a .748 OPS. He has a .978 fielding percentage at shortstop, the fifth-best among players with at least 800 games played at the position since 2012.

Two-time All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and the Phillies agreed last month to a $115.5 million. five-year deal.

Philadelphia hasn’t reached the postseason since 2011, the last year it had a winning record. The Phillies finished 28-32 in a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, missing a wild-card berth by one game in the expanded playoff format.

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