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Galvis vs. Crawford and other big decisions remain for Phillies GM Matt Klentak

On Episode 139 of The Felske Files, host John Stolnis speaks with ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick about what the Phils might do over the winter, and with Phillies beat writer Stephen Gross about the Pete Rose Wall of Fame controversy and what a successful last two months of the 2017 season look like.

By John Stolnis

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MLB: Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Episode 139 of The Felske Files is brought to you by Anthony Arot and The Nash Wealth Management Group! Check them out here!

Well, we’re through one stage of the process.

Phillies GM Matt Klentak has dealt away the veterans. He got some interesting arms with potential upside for the low minors and acquired some very valuable international bonus pool money as part of those deals. That will allow the Phils to be huge players in the international market this year.

But the heavy lifting for Klentak remains to be done. He has major decisions to make with regards to a number of different positions on the field, each of which have half decent Major Leaguers blocking the baths of top prospects with potentially more upside.

Tommy Joseph is still here. Rhys Hoskins is not. This may not change in August.

Cesar Hernandez is still here. That’s not surprising, as there really was no market for a second baseman, and the Phillies seem content to let Scott Kingery finish out the season in the minors. A September call-up is possible.

Freddy Galvis is still here, and making amazing defensive plays on a regular basis. J.P. Crawford continues to scald the baseball for Lehigh Valley. What are the Phillies going to do at shortstop? Is it possible the team could turn to Galvis to be the long-term solution and use Crawford as trade bait? Or would it be vice versa?

For my money, Crawford is the guy. I’m pot committed there. But is Galvis making this a real problem for the Phillies? Is this career season something that can be counted on moving forward? If so, maybe there is a real debate here.

There are questions about how aggressive the team should be in trading for established veterans with big contracts, or going after expensive ace-level starting pitching. Decisions on which players to keep and which to move are not being made easy.

Joining me on the podcast this week is ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick and Phillies beat writer Stephen Gross to talk about all of this and more, including...

  • The Phillies have rescinded their invitation for Pete Rose to participate in the Wall of Fame ceremony, and have decided he will not have a plaque as part of the team’s Wall of Fame.
  • Did the Phils handle the situation correctly?
  • Stephen Gross joins the show to talk about how the Phillies dealt with the Rose controversy.
  • How did Klentak do at the trade deadline?
  • What are the Phillies going to do about first base?
  • Regarding the shortstop battle, Gross advocated for the Phils to go with Galvis as the long-term shortstop and use Crawford in a trade for a big bat.
  • What does the team really think about Odubel Herrera?
  • Jerry Crasnick joins the show.
  • We break down the MLB Trade Deadline, including the Yu Darvish trade, the Sonny Gray deal, and a number of others that could help some team with it all this October.
  • Crasnick discusses the Phils’ quandry at first base, second base and shortstop this off-season.
  • #TrustTheProspects segment, featuring an interview by PhoulBallz.com’s Jay Floyd with Lakewood prospect Nick Fanti.
  • Baseball America and MLB.com are out with their organizational prospect rankings.
  • STAT OF THE WEEK
  • PLEASE VISIT THE FELSKE FILES TEEPUBLIC.COM STORE! Click right here for phenomenal T-shirts and other apparel!

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