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Lots of Freddy Galvis love

On Episode 131 of The Felske Files hosts John Stolnis & Justin Klugh talk about the recent love-fest surrounding the Phils’ shortstop, and the motivation behind it.

By John Stolnis and Justin Klugh Updated

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MLB: San Diego Padres at Philadelphia Phillies Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Man, Freddy Galvis had himself quite a week.

On Monday, he welcomed his newborn baby girl into the world and, later in the day, slugged a home run in his first plate appearances.

He finished up the week by having his second, two-homer game of the season, in the Phillies 7-1 win over the Padres.

Galvis is a terrific defensive player and has surprising pop. He enters the All-Star break with 10 dingers, tied for 4th-most among qualified NL shortstops, and his .423 slugging percentage is 5th-best.

He’s also hitting just .259, 9th out of 13 qualified NL shortstop, and his on-base percentage of .301 is 8th-best. He has major flaws in his offensive game, the biggest of which is he makes too many outs.

Yet, he is a vocal leader in the clubhouse, perhaps the only one. There are aspects to his game that go beyond the numbers, something manager Pete Mackanin and bench coach Larry Bowa wanted to make clear to reporters this week.

There’s a reason Mackanin and Bowa are talking up Galvis now, with just three weeks to go until the trade deadline. He just had a baby and had a memorable game afterwards, and he has been far more vocal lately. But there comments are also more effusive towards Galvis than they’ve ever been and one has to wonder why.

Are they trying to drive up trade value by making it clear to the rest of baseball how valuable Galvis truly is, on and off the field? The more likely scenario is they are pressuring management to make sure they keep Galvis this month and consider him as a long-term part of the rebuild. It could also all just a happy coincidence.

On this episode of The Felske Files, we explore that topic (starting at the 44:37 mark)...

Among the other items discussed this episode...

  • The Phillies end the first half of the season with six home runs against the Padres
  • Jerad Eickhoff’s start off the disabled list was incredibly encouraging
  • Aaron Nola’s return to dominance could ease concerns that the rebuild is way behind
  • Kudos to Ben Lively & Nick Pivetta for providing much-needed stability in the absence of Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez
  • Velasquez is expected to return after the All-Star Break, is this his last chance to prove he can be a starter?
  • Uniform talk... what we thought about the Phillies and Padres throw-back uniforms
  • What other throwback uniforms should other teams make more regularly?
  • Rhys Hoskins & Scott Kingery in the Futures Game
  • It’s time for Hoskins to come up, but what to do with Tommy Joseph
  • The numbers, compared to other first basemen, are not that good for Joseph
  • Pat Neshek is the Phillies’ lone All Star representative on Tuesday!
  • Monday is Pat Neshek Day at The Good Phight!
  • PLEASE VISIT THE FELSKE FILES TEEPUBLIC.COM STORE! Click right here for phenomenal T-shirts and other apparel, including these sweet tees!

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