REPORT: Freddy Galvis Fiddles with Batting Glove on Bench

Back in March, the Phillies made the decision to keep Freddy Galvis over Yuniesky Betancourt.

This is the sole image we have of Freddy Galvis that’s not from the preseason. Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Betancourt went on to be scooped up by the Brewers, where he would go 5-for-20 with zero extra base hits, one RBI, and a .554 OPS.  Freddy Galvis wouldn’t even be able to amass half of that.

Of course, Galvis has the added handicap of not being played by his manager, at all.  And while Charlie Manuel can’t make everybody happy, he can make them legitimate.  As in, “there has to be a legitimate reason Freddy Galvis is on this roster, other, WTF are we doing?”

Charlie has spoken openly about not really seeing the need for Freddy Galvis, a spectacular defender, to enter games as a defensive replacement for, say, Michael Young, an out-of-place third baseman.  It’s odd, then, that young Freddy is even here – this s exactly the role he was meant for.

People seem poised to ignore any sort of offensive progress Freddy has made over the past few months – which he has, hitting .300 in Venezuela this winter with five home runs, two triples, and 11 doubles; and .263 in spring training with an OPS just shy of .800, three more dingers, and nine more extra base hits  in 30 at-bats.  So if that’s how we’re going to play this one, then okay, for some reason, we’re going to pretend all Freddy can offer is his glove.

And even then, he brings value.  Plenty.  And in a situation where Michael Young, who has been a strong bat as of late and not airmailed any throws to first in a couple days, is playing on 36-year-old knees that will not get to everything, why are we living in a fantasy world where Freddy Galvis, a spry youngster with A+ defense, is sitting on the bench?

I don’t mean he should be a starter – not yet, anyway.  But the Phillies are not using him at all.  He has appeared in zero games [EDIT: This is totally wrong. He’s 0-for-3 at the plate, which makes him no George Kottaras] .  Nothing.  He’s not a bat off the bench.  He’s a defensive replacement who isn’t replacing anybody.

I’m not saying anything we don’t know, here.

But with the mishandling of Dom Brown on the Phillies’ track record, it is not impossible to think this team is seriously going to have a guy as valuable as Freddy Galvis make the team, and then not use him because ________.  At least in triple-A his muscles wouldn’t be atrophying.