2021 Report Card: Freddy Galvis

He never wanted to leave Philadelphia in the first place, so when the Baltimore Orioles traded Freddy Galvis back to the Phillies at the deadline, it was a homecoming worthy of a Hallmark movie. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch. But it was certainly a homecoming that worked out well for all parties involved this season.

2021 Stats (With the Phillies)

.224/.292/.393, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 19:9 (K:BB), 0.1 fWAR

The Good

Freddy Galvis was a much-needed defensive upgrade at both shortstop and third base. But in addition to establishing a reliable presence in an infield desperate for someone who knows how their glove works, he provided a boost to the offense as well. In particular, his performance in September and October was one of the factors that kept the Phillies in the playoff hunt for as long as they were.

The Bad

Galvis was traded to the Phillies with a quad injury, which kept him off the field for an entire month before he finally made his on-field return in Philly. And while not Galvis’ fault, the insistence on playing him over Alec Bohm (who was finally starting to hit well) at the end of the season contributed to the overarching theme of “why is a veteran playing over a kid” that seems to be dominating the Joe Girardi era.

The Future

This season, Galvis became the 14th player in franchise history to appear in at least 500 games at shortstop. With a final total of 508 appearances, he also passed Ruben Amaro Sr. (504) for 13th most in franchise history. There’s no doubt that the history between him and the Phillies incites feelings of nostalgia and genuine care. Freddy Galvis understands what it means to play in Philly for a long time. He knows Philly, he loves Philly, and the feelings are mostly mutual.

With that being said, Galvis is a free agent once again and the Phillies likely are not looking to bring him back - nor should they. Despite being a good deadline addition in 2021, he simply is not the right fit for this team moving forward. They need to upgrade at shortstop, and that will have to come in the form of either Bryson Stott or a bigger free agent signing.

Personally, I wish him all the best with the rest of his career. I’d love to see him go on to do bigger and better things with another team. I’ll always be rooting for Freddy Galvis.

Final Grade: B-

Maybe this is a bit too kind of a grade considering he only appeared in 32 games for the Phillies this season, but once he was healthy, Freddy brought exactly what the team needed from him both offensively and defensively. He wasn’t the answer to all their prayers and he’s not going to be the answer moving forward, but he played his role in 2021 to the best of his ability.