Infielder Freddy Galvis makes no secret about his desire to return to the Phillies in an interview with Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As Breen explores, Galvis had an immediate impact on the clubhouse and team morale and was generally beloved and viewed as a veteran leader — both by teammates who’d played with him during his original run with the club and by newcomers who knew little of Galvis before the Phils acquired him from the Orioles this past July. Fellow utilityman Brad Miller tells Breen he was caught by surprise to see the clubhouse excitement after the trade was announced, but he quickly understood why. “It’s the epitome of being a pro,” Miller said. “Like we say it all the time, ‘That guys a pro’ or ‘He’s a good teammate’ or ‘He’s a winner.’ All these little terms. That’s what it comes down to when you’re a major-league baseball player is having those traits. He’s prepared for everything.”
Galvis wouldn’t be a candidate to start for the Phillies, but he could serve as a versatile infield piece and perhaps a bridge to prospect Bryson Stott — if the Phillies don’t pursue one of the higher-profile names on the free-agent market this winter. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski plainly acknowledged the need to improve at shortstop after the season and said veteran Didi Gregorius is not assured the starting job in 2022.
More out of Philly…
- Newly hired hitting coach Kevin Long is already headed to the Phillies’ spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla., where he’ll get an early start on working with Alec Bohm, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly. Bohm, 25, looked well on his way to cementing himself as a mainstay in the heart of the Phillies’ order in 2020 when he hit .338/.400/.481 in 180 plate appearances as a rookie. He mustered only a .247/.305/.342 slash in 417 trips to the plate this season, however, and eventually found himself optioned to Triple-A. Long, previously the hitting coach for the Yankees, Mets and Nationals, notes that young players are “really, really important to big-market teams,” as they can offset the cost of high-priced free agents and arbitration-eligible players. Long calls Bohm “one of the best hitters in the league in 2020” and suggests that Bohm “is a big part of the Philadelphia Phillies and us winning a championship.” Dombrowski acknowledged at season’s end that Bohm probably won’t win any Gold Gloves at the hot corner (link via 97.3 ESPN) but can be a bat-first option for the team moving forward. “His key is he has to hit. If he hits well enough, you’ll live with the defensive aspect of it,” said Dombrowski.
- Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia took a look at the Phils’ upcoming arbitration class earlier this week, opining that Odúbel Herrera, Ronald Torreyes, Travis Jankowski, Roman Quinn and Andrew Knapp might all be cut loose this winter. None of Torreyes, Jankowski, Quinn or Knapp would cost much to bring back, but everyone in that group comes with performance and/or durability question marks. The Phils hold an $11.5MM club option on Herrera’s services for next season that comes with a $2.5MM buyout. Even if they decline the option, the Phillies could retain Herrera via arbitration, but his projected $11.6MM arb salary isn’t any more affordable (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). That indeed seems like a steep price for a player who hit a fine but unspectacular .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances this past season. Herrera underperformed early in the 2019 season, then was suspended for the remainder of that year after violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. He didn’t play in 2020, but the Phillies brought him back to the majors in late April this year.
I have no suggestions on how the Phillies can dig out of the roster and poor farm system the previous FO left them – while their payroll was/is already approaching the luxury tax.
However, Dave Dombrowski is a pro with a great track record.
Watching his actions the next few years should be interesting.
And yes, Freddy Galvis was a great pick-up.
Two suggestions: (1) dump Herrera, and (2) trade Nola to a team and ballpark where the results might be more favorable. I believe that you can get something useful in return for Nola.
How about Aaron Nola to the Padres for Wil Myers (same salary as Nola) and either Justin Lange or MacKenzie Gore?
You must be a Padres fan. Nola had a down year for sure, but is still capable of bouncing back to be a very solid SP. Command and questionable pitch selection did him in this season.
Nola is too good on too good of a contract to trade. If philly wants to win he has to be part of the puzzle.
Nola’s friendly contract and tremendous upside makes him too valuable to trade.
“I believe that you can get something useful in return for Nola.” LOL! Be careful you don’t fall, since you’re going out on such a limb here…
They should also trade Bohm to a team where he could start at a new position. How about Bohm to the Braves for Camargo (same salary ad Bohm) and either Blooper or a bucket of used baseballs.
I am in agreement with you to dump Herrera, 2.5M buyout will be using that magic eraser to clean up one of the many major mistakes the prior regime made. However, Aaron Nola had what would be a CY Young season in almost any other year back in 2019. He makes 15M, and is still a very good SP. Lack of run support/poor defense/faith in bullpen have led to many of his “poor” outings the past 2 years. He and Wheeler are a good 1/1a at top of the rotation, and if Suarez can duplicate his 2021 success, that is 3 SP’s w/ all star material. Eflin has been a steady #3, and Gibson could pick up a lot of W’s matching up against 5th starters around the league. The emphasis this year has to be on creating a trustworthy bullpen. They need 3 quality backend pen guys, at minimum.The top 3 names Kenley Jansen 34, Craig Kimbrel 34,and Raisel Iglesias 32. Kimbrel & Jansen have been great most of their careers, but mileage on their arms, and $ could be a deterrent. Iglesias, is likely to be the highest paid FA RP, and the difference between he and a few others isn’t very large IMO.I like Kendall Graveman 31, who is still closing games for HOU in the WS now, is one of my 1st FA choices, along with the return of Archie Bradley 29, who pitched well most days for the Phillies in 2021. He had untimely injuries that never gave him a chance to close FT. I also like, Sean Doolittle, 35, & Daniel Norris, 29, LHRPs, who have had extremely good seasons at times in their careers (Doolittle almost 10 years as a CL), and shouldn’t cost too much on short term deals. Also, the team needs a LH hitter who can hit for average, obp, & with some pop either LF/CF. Kyle Schwarber and Joc Pederson are the top 2 FA options. I’d look into trade options, but this post has gone way too far already.
DD is an honest man
Bohm has a ton of talent. Kevin Long is a great hitting coach. Seems like it’s a match made in heaven, but we’ll see if it pays out next year.
Yeah, he was incredible for the Phillies this season. Came up big in many ways you don’t see on a stat sheet
Not sure why this posted as a response to the wrong comment. This was in response to Manny just below.
I think the Phillies would and should be happy to bring Ronald Torreyes back as a utility player on a major league minimum contract.
I think the first guy Long needs to fix is Scott Kingery…The Phillies are on the hook for a lot of cash with this guy!!
He just needs to get back to being a contact first, on-base guy. Stop trying to get all jacked up and hit HRs and just get on the d*mn bases! Once he gets on he can cause trouble, but not if he can’t get on. If he can become a solid on-base guy, he would be the perfect lead off man for the Phillies.
I think you just described what happened with Jimmy Rollins…
Bohm is the higher ceiling/quicker fix at the plate. But Kingery shouldn’t be a forgotten man. Bryson Stott may need some fine tuning/polishing, because he should be with the big club by May/June at latest.
If I were Dave Dombrowski I would write this message in sharpie on my bathroom mirror “200+ million dollars spent on pitching is better than 200+ million for a shortstop”.
Maybe not. Unless 200 million buys an entire pitching staff that can strike hitters out at a rate similar to Z. Wheeler, their defense needs to get better. Their pitchers will always contend with the dimensions of the ballpark, they would be better served by a defense that could help them get out of some innings.
The Phillies actually have good starting pitching. They lack defense and offensive depth. So ironically, I’d prefer to spend on a shortstop.
Can’t see spending big money on a shortstop with Stott being close to taking over. Would rather get Bryant for 3rd and at least try Bohm in LF (it worked for Burrell and Luzinski), or DH. He’s no better at 1st than he is at 3rd.
Or they could just sign Bryant and he can play LF, 3B, 1B, CF, RF, and SS in a pinch. But if the universal DH is put into play, then KB would become a very serious consideration depending on how many $$$/years he commands
I get that but the point I was trying to make is that one star shortstop isn’t saving this team. The Phillies top of the rotation is great, in my mind the 200 million on pitching was for a stable back end starter and two or three bullpen pieces one of which being a legit closer. I could see going the defense and offensive depth route though too. Just think that adding a Corey Seager or Trevor Story simply adds to the star power on offense and neglects the multiple holes on the roster that need to be addressed thereby pretty much putting out a very talented roster in some spots but still deficient roster as a whole yet again and kicking the rebuild can down the road a couple more years for a middling, frustrating team.
Not so sure about the pitching – Wheeler is an all star, Nola is 9-9, Eflin hurt and Suarez a two pitch starter (uh, remember Vance Worley?).
Bryson Stott has shown his ability to field the position well and hit at all levels for high avg/obp/slg. If he is the SS he is projected to be (many conpare him to Brandon Crawford), we can save a few hundred million while adding a much needed LH bat in the order, one that Didi Gregorious was supposed to provide last year.
First, keep Nola. he had 200+ Ks and walked few. Might have been done in by that fickle BABIP figure: To wit, ground balls and/or bloops found holes rather than leather.
I like both Galvis and Torreyes as glove-first reserves. Probably not room for both.
Odubel? Time to say goodbye. He was OK in 2021, but he was our CF by default. Plus, his OBP was dismal in the leadoff spot. barely .300.
The starting five are solid, if not, when taken as a group, more than solid.
I think Didi will do better with the bat in 2022. The glove? Hey, it ain’t terrible, just not Ozzie Smith-like.
Key for the Phillies in 2022 is assembling a bullpen, a task that somehow has eluded us the past few seasons. We need a go-to closer. Can’t play musical chairs with that role any longer. I’m re-signing Neris and praying Seranthony is fully healthy.
My under the radar, way under the radar, i.e., flyer for CF is Tim Locastro. Not sure if he’s a FA. Was traded by D-Back to the Yankees. Got hurt almost immediately upon arriving in the Bronx. Doesn’t appear to be any room in the inn for him in New York. If he’s not a FA, then the cost to trade for him would be minimal. Guy hardly strikes out, draws his walks as witnessed by his historically high OBP and, with an everyday gig, the guy could steal 50+ bases. Gold glove defense, as well. Just has never been in a position to get regular PT.
Locastro is headed to his first year of arbitration. He tore his ACL in July so he might be out for a while. Doubtful the Yankees would just release him so he’d have to be traded for.
Agree on all points except that Didi was pretty damn bad defensively last season. More lack of focus, easy plays, that he tin gloved for some reason. I think that the universal DH will come into play this year, and that may be his place on the team this year, unless he shows he can stay healthy,hit,& field this season.
Alec Bohm=Phil Dorn?
Roger Dorn?
* Roger Dorn
Michael Dorn. Worf would still be awesome at baseball.
@Captain..LOL! I liked that drop.
Plenty of time to teach Bohm how to touch home plate.
The problem with cutting Herrera loose is there is no better center fielder in the system and once you get past what will be a very expensive Starling Marte, there are also no clear better free agents. Buyout itself is $2.5M and I believe they’d have to buy him out first to avoid having him be an arbitration case.
All of what you just said about Herrera and CF is true
However, the optics of retaining Odubel for another year are bad.
We want to see the Phillies revitalized, not just dusted off.
New faces. A fresh start.
Go after a top prospect on another organization currently blocked by others, such as the Yankees’ toolsy Estevan Florial
i thought that bohm was an excellent defender? i haven’t looked at the metrics, but do my eyes deceive me?
He stinks.
Trade Hoskins today!!!!!!!
I agree to move Hoskins, Nola and DIDI while you can get something for them.resign Galvis since ss is going to be Stott.I heard Torreyes will want too much money for a utility man.PITCHING AND MORE PITCHING with better PITCHING we don’t need to worry about CF
Hopefully Long can turn around Bohm and if that works maybe see if he can turn around Didi,Haseley and Kingery.
That would be a Long shot.
@htbnm57…Hasley seems to have stress issues..I wish him well…
We are aware Long was not hired as Bohm’s personal hitting coach. He was hired to be the Phillies hitting coach
Not ready to give up on Bohm just yet. He’s essentially an MLB average hitter over his first 162 games which isn’t bad for a rookie. Hopefully he can make the same strides like Austin Riley did for the Braves this year.
Need to move on from Odubel tho and see what Hasely and Moniak can do in CF.
Long is good but he can’t polish a Terd!!!
I’m not overly concerned with Bohm. I’ll chalk it up to being a sophomore slump. I’m confident he’ll bounce back and produce next season
You don’t give up on talent. Remember the people who recently claimed Vladdy Jr., Austin Riley, and “Made-of-Glass” Ohtani were busts?
Kevin Long attended the Cardinals-Dodgers wildcard game at Dodger Stadium with his good friend and former pupil Juan Soto. The Phillies might want to put the long-term in Long’s contract.
Agree on all points except that Didi was pretty damn bad defensively last season. More lack of focus, easy plays, that he tin gloved for some reason. I think that the universal DH will come into play this year, and that may be his place on the team this year, unless he shows he can stay healthy,hit,& field this season.