PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Phillies and shortstop Didi Gregorius finalized their $14 million, one-year contract Friday.
Gregorius reunites in Philadelphia with manager Joe Girardi after spending the past five seasons with the New York Yankees, including the first three playing for Girardi.
The 29-year-old Gregorius batted .238 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs this year, leaving him with a .264 average, 110 homers and 417 RBIs in eight major league seasons.
His 2019 debut was delayed until June 7 after Tommy John surgery on Oct. 17, 2018, to repair an elbow ligament torn during Game 2 of the AL Division Series at Boston.
Over the last four seasons, Gregorius ranks fourth among all major league shortstops in home runs (88), trailing only Trevor Story (123), Francisco Lindor (118) and Javier Baez (100). He is also tied for fifth in RBIs (304), eighth in slugging percentage (.467) and 10th in extra-base hits (193) in that same span.
His .979 career fielding percentage is the fourth-best among players with at least 800 games played at the position since 2012.
Gregorius has spent parts of eight major league seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (2012), Arizona Diamondbacks (2013-14) and Yankees (2015-19), appearing in 851 games.
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