Phillies lose Freddy Galvis, Marcus Semien shortstop options

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently identified the catcher, shortstop, and bullpen positions as the top three areas the team needed to address this offseason.

With the exciting recent signings of catcher J.T. Realmuto and reliever Archie Bradley — as well as the trade acquisitions of fellow bullpen arms Jose Alvarado from the Tampa Bay Rays and Sam Coonrod from the San Francisco Giants — at lot has already been done to address at least two-thirds of those needs.

Now, the Phillies need to identify who will be their starting shortstop.

Along with the possibility of sticking with either Scott Kingery or Jean Segura full-time at the position, the club has also been linked to four free-agents — among them, re-signing Didi Gregorius and a reunion with Freddy Galvis. Former Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels shortstops Marcus Semien and Andrelton Simmons are the other two.

Didi Gregorius and Andrelton Simmons are the two remaining free-agent shortstop options for the Phillies.

Now, just two of those four free-agent options remain possibilities for the Phillies, Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld, as on Tuesday, Semien reportedly agreed to a one-year, $18 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Galvis a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

On Monday, SportsRadio 94 WIP’s Howard Eskin first reported that the Phillies have “serious interest” in signing the four-time Gold Glove Award winner in Simmons, particularly to a one-year deal. Following Tuesday’s Realmuto signing, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand backed up the rumor by reporting the team’s focus now turns to shortstop, Simmons specifically.

Update, 8:42 p.m.: Andrelton Simmons has reportedly signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Minnesota Twins, leaving Didi Gregorius as the lone remaining free-agent shortstop linked to the Phillies.

Realmuto, Semien, and Galvis all signing on Tuesday (in that order) indicates the Phillies have already made a decision as to which of the four shortstops they will land — considering they have a clearer budget picture.

For now, Simmons appears to be more likely to don red pinstripes this coming season, rather than Gregorius returning for a second year with his longtime former New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi. It is not known whether Gregorius would consider returning on another one-year deal with the Phillies.