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Freddy Galvis: Baseball Reference
And here's a link both to my preview of him, back in late March. Let's just go ahead and say that he didn't quite match my expectations.
For Galvis, ending up on the major league roster at all was a fairly big surprise. Yet, as he started 2012, he stood on 2B, with a whole heap of hype swirling around him. And, for a little while, he might have been the most enjoyable position player to watch on the 2012 Phillies. His highlights in the field ranged from spectacular to merely incredible. Offensively, he wasn't exactly a star, but after a rough April in which his wRC+ was a mere 37 (where 100 is league average), he was nearly an average hitter in May (wRC+ of 88). His OBP was always terrible, as his average was low and he couldn't draw a walk to save his life, but he did show a bit of pop in May, with nearly half his hits going for extra bases.
Of course, if that was all that happened to Galvis in 2012, he wouldn't be nearly so disappointing. But it isn't. Instead, he suffered a back injury on June 6 and got put on the DL. That was the last that Galvis got to see the field in 2012, as on June 19, with the Phillies already underwater with a record of 31-37, Galvis received a 50 game suspension from the league for PED usage.
It's always hard to know exactly what effects PED usage have on a player's performance, if any. Regardless, to find out that Galvis' sub-par performance was aided by PEDs doesn't exactly say a whole lot for him. Given his stark improvement in the minors in 2011, it's quite possible that his true talent level on offense is well below what we previously thought. But speculation aside, Galvis will simply have to prove himself on the major-league level yet again if he's to ever be considered more than an all-glove player.
After the season, Galvis conducted an interview with Ruben Amaro Jr., in what is quite possibly one of the rare occurrences where Amaro has conversed with a player who hit worse for the Phillies than he did.
1. How did you let your teammates down this season?
Well, I wasn't Chase Utley.
2. Phillies, we're talking about the Phillies here. How did you let your manager and GM down this season?
Again, not Chase Utley.
3. Well, what do you do? Can you tell the fans that, at the very least?
I can play defense. Also, I'm great at taking Clostebol, which fills a need. As for the fans? I'd tell them that as long as I'm on the roster, you'll never have to worry about seeing many balls escape the infield, either in the top or the bottom of any inning.
4. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst, how do you rate on the "it's my fault we're in this freaking mess and missed the playoffs scale"?
I mean, I screwed up, but really, how much blame can be placed on a rookie with one season of decent offensive performance? I'd say 2.5.
5. Other than yourself, which player caused this fiasco of a season the most?
Is there an all of the above option? Other than Rollins, Lee, Hamels, and Papelbon, we all blew chunks.