The Philadelphia Phillies could pay shortstop Didi Gregorius $14.5 million next season to be a bench player.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the veteran infielder has been told he's not guaranteed to be the Opening Day shortstop heading into the 2022 campaign, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Matt Breen.
Philadelphia re-signed the 31-year-old to a two-year, $28-million contract in January after he hit .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs during the shortened 2020 season.
Gregorius' numbers plummeted in 2021. He slashed .209/.270/.370 and ranked 27th in OPS (.639) among the 31 big-league shortstops with at least 400 plate appearances, according to FanGraphs.
Jean Segura, who's signed through 2022 with a 2023 option, and Philadelphia's No. 2 prospect, Bryson Stott, could potentially start at short for Philadelphia next year. Stott posted a .876 OPS with 16 homers across three minor-league levels this season.
Dombrowski didn't mention if the Phillies would be in the market for a free-agent shortstop like Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Javier Baez, Trevor Story, or Marcus Semien this winter.