3 former Phillies ranked among MLBTR’s top trade candidates

With Memorial Day in the books — and June baseball and All-Star Game voting upon us — it is officially that point in the Philadelphia Phillies season when hot stove trade rumors start heating up.

MLBTradeRumors.com (MLBTR) recently posted its top 40 MLB trade candidates, according to value and and likelihood of being traded ahead of the July 30 deadline. While no current Phillies players made the list, three who used to don red pinstripes in recent seasons — two infielders and one outfielder — were named.

Freddy Galvis, shortstop

MLBTR considers former Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis as being the 27th-most likely player to be dealt. Spanning 51 games and 192 plate appearances this season with the Baltimore Orioles, the Venezuela native is slashing .244/.314/.471 with 10 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 21 RBI, 16 walks, and 42 strikeouts. Logging 408 innings at the shortstop position in the field, Galvis has turned nine double plays and committed just three errors spanning 167 chances

The now-10-year veteran played the first six seasons of his career with the Phillies from 2012-17. He was long considered the successor to franchise hits leader Jimmy Rollins at the shortstop position. It was not until 2015 when he became a regular, hitting .263 that year with 26 extra-base hits.

In his final year with the Phillies, 2017, Galvis played all 162 games and slugged a career-best 29 doubles, walking walking a career-high 45 times. That offseason, the Phillies traded Galvis to the San Diego Padres for right-handed pitcher Enyel De Los Santos.

The 31-year-old is under contract with the Orioles just through this season on a team-friendly one-year, $1.5 million deal. “Galvis has exceeded expectations in Baltimore. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average feel he’s playing the worst defense of his career, but a contender might look to Galvis as more of a utility option to bounce between shortstop, third base and second base anyhow,” MLBTR’s Steve Adams writes.

Asdrubal Cabrera, infielder

It seems like forever ago when then-Phillies general manager Matt Klentak acquired Asdrubal Cabrera from the New York Mets, but it actually was only three summers ago. In exchange for the two-time All-Star infielder, the Phillies sent their division rival Double-A prospect RHP Franklyn Kilome — who is 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA, 1.216 WHIP, and 15-15 strikeouts-to-walks ratio spanning five starts and 24 2/3 innings this season at Triple-A.

Ranked as the 23rd-most likely player to be traded, Adams writes that the switch-hitter “just keeps on producing,” despite his 35 years of age. “He’s no longer a shortstop, but Cabrera can handle either infield corner and second base,” Adams continues. “He’s been an average or better hitter every season since 2015, and this year has been perhaps the best start of his generally underrated career. Playing on just a $1.75 million salary this season, he’d be a boost to any contending club’s infield mix, although he’s currently on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.”

Cabrera did not exactly light the world on fire during his 49-game Phillies tenure in 2018, slashing .228/.286/.392, although he did provide some much-needed extra-base power with 13 doubles, five home runs, and 17 RBI.

Combined in his 217 games since with the Texas Rangers (2019), Washington Nationals (2019-20), and Arizona Diamondbacks (2021), the 15-year veteran has slashed .260/.341/.447 with 43 doubles, 30 home runs, 140 RBI, 95 walks, and 168 strikeouts. The Venezuela native, of course, began the first seven-plus seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians (2007-14). In 2011, he earned Silver Slugger honors after slugging 32 doubles, 25 home runs, and 92 RBI across 151 games.