Phillies Sign Freddy Galvis
By Matt Veasey
The Philadelphia Phillies have avoided arbitration with one of their starting position players.
Starting shortstop Freddy Galvis has reportedly agreed to a one-year contract for $2 million, bringing the 26-year old back as the starter for a 2nd and likely final season.
The reasoning behind that “final” comment is that the team’s top prospect, and one of the top prospects in all of baseball, is also a shortstop. Just the other day, J.P. Crawford turned 21 years old. Invited to his first spring training, it is possible that Crawford will reach the big leagues at some point in 2016, and should be ready to take over the starting role by the 2017 season at the latest.
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All along, it has been known that Galvis, who signed with the Phillies as an international free agent out of Venezuela back in 2006, is a stopgap shortstop for the Phillies. He is filling the role in between longtime icon Jimmy Rollins, traded away in December of 2014, and the anticipated arrival of Crawford.
Galvis made $513,500 last season after making $500.000 in 2014, so this is a nice bump for him. He hit for a .263/.302/.343 slash line with seven homers, 50 RBI, 63 runs scored, and 10 steals over 603 plate appearances during his first full season in 2015. His 147 hits tied Odubel Herrera for the Phillies team lead.
Galvis had filed for salary arbitration on Tuesday, as did newly acquired starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and reliever Jeanmar Gomez. If the two pitchers do not similarly sign before then, the players and the team will file salary figures on Friday to begin that arbitration process.