Phillies receiving trade offers for their middle infielders

I don’t have to sit here and list for you the news we’re waiting to hear about the Phillies this off-season. We all know what their needs are, we all know where the potential trades seem to exist, and we all know that the whispered interests they appeared to have had during the GM Meetings seemed to not address any of those things.

Now, it’s December, and the hottest the MLB stove has gotten so far is the submission of “Why You Should Play for Our Team” essays to Shohei Otani’s agent. But the Phillies still have four potential big league middle infielders to fill two spots on their big league middle infield. The team dispatched J.P. Crawford to help Rhys Hoskins ring the bell at a Sixers game recently, indicating an interest in having his face out there as a representation of the team. Scott Kingery is staying out of winter ball, choosing to emulate as best he can the work he did in the Arizona Fall League last year.

The two veterans in the equation have generated the most chin-stroking, as youth-enthusiasts have easily embraced the idea of moving the two proven commodities, Freddy Galvis at SS and Cesar Hernandez at 2B, to teams that could find a place for Galvis’ stellar defense and Hernandez’s enviable on base prowess.

This morning, it was mentioned that things have indeed been thought about Galvis and Hernandez by other teams, and those things were thought loudly enough for Jim Salisbury to hear them.

Galvis and Hernandez are both very much available for trade and the Phillies have received offers, according to sources. However, none of the offers have been to the Phillies' liking.

While the Phillies remain open to dealing Galvis and Hernandez, they would be comfortable hanging on to both if they do not get the value they seek.

Ken Rosenthal wrote that Hernandez’s dance partner could be the Angels, who we’ve heard repeatedly linked to the 27-year-old, though the farm system from which the Phillies would be plucking in L.A. does not leave much to be desired. Rosenthal also considers the Padres to be Galvis’ best match, where he would inherit a sadly familiar role as their “short term solution” while they wait for a bus carrying the prospects who would steal his job to arrive.

In the mean time, the Phillies tendered contracts to the arbitration-eligible Galvis and Hernandez (as well as Cameron Rupp, Luis Garcia, and Maikel Franco). We are inching through the off-season, folks, and with each passing inch, it becomes easier to imagine the Phillies’ moves all exploding over the course of one massively gratifying hour. Or, in perhaps a show of stubborn power, they simply maintain their trade chips, having no real pressure to take a bad deal. It’s not the worst place to be in as a team, but for any trade junkies waiting for some form of sweet, sweet asset acquisition, the cold sweats will go on.