Reds claim Freddy Galvis off waivers

[GeorgiaPeach]

I believe we are forgetting that Gurriel can play a not bad SS

 

When you have the yips, it's bad.

[Jimcanuck]

When you have the yips, it's bad.

 

He was bad early this season, at the plate and in the field. Whatever was going on, he seems to have corrected it. Guy played infield in the minors and a fair bit last season. Not going to write him off as a guy that can played a limited role in the infield (emergency replacement, occasional start).

 

Would be good to have existing internal options available rather than sign a backup infielder to use up a roster spot.

[GeorgiaPeach]

He was bad early this season, at the plate and in the field. Whatever was going on, he seems to have corrected it. Guy played infield in the minors and a fair bit last season. Not going to write him off as a guy that can played a limited role in the infield (emergency replacement, occasional start).

 

Would be good to have existing internal options available rather than sign a backup infielder to use up a roster spot.

 

Like extremely limited. Part game or 1 game tops.

[THANOS]

How come good teams never worry about these things when they have good players playing less than they’d play on bad teams?

 

That's a good point. Perhaps the answer is that those teams are already good and far enough along the win curve to need to worry about such things, whereas we're putting all eggs in the unproven rookie basket, so creating good habits and player development are much higher priorities to them?

[Laika]

Just sign a newer, better piece in the off-season for Galvis’ projected role.

 

Jesus, you f***ing crybabies

[DigitalRock]

All this crying over Galvis? I don't get it.

[DigitalRock]

Why is this nothing move attracting newbies to the board? I had no idea there was such a large fan-base for a switch hitting Ryan Goins with dreads.

 

Lol...

[jaysguy44]

I've followed this team since the early 80's, I have never seen such gross incompetence from the GM office before. I thought JPR and Gord Ash were poor GM's, but I would give anything to have one of them over the boob that is turning the organization in to a joke. Not satisfied with merely being fleeced in trades, the clowns at the top now are giving away players literally.

They would have been better served to keep Galvis and move him to 1b, you would get better production than the disaster that is Smoak/Dreary

 

I don't understand how people like this can be so dumb. Yikes.

[DigitalRock]

I've followed this team since the early 80's, I have never seen such gross incompetence from the GM office before. I thought JPR and Gord Ash were poor GM's, but I would give anything to have one of them over the boob that is turning the organization in to a joke. Not satisfied with merely being fleeced in trades, the clowns at the top now are giving away players literally.

They would have been better served to keep Galvis and move him to 1b, you would get better production than the disaster that is Smoak/Dreary

 

This is one of the dumber posts I've read on here... Congrats.

[glory]

Just sign a newer, better piece in the off-season for Galvis’ projected role.

 

Jesus, you f***ing crybabies

 

Seriously, I must be missing something with Galvis. He's a solid 1-2 war player, but he's a backup on this team, and the Jays are clearly better off giving that role to Drury who might actually have a bit of upside and versatility.

 

Off the top of my head, infielders like Beckham, Iglesias, Harrison, Sogard, etc, signed for dirt s***. Players like this are not valued anymore. Galvis at $5.5m is a bad use of resources in this market and the Jays could sign another infielder with that profile rather inexpensively without having to worry about Buntoyo playing him everyday (hopefully). If that $$ could be reallocated to pitching help, it would be a much better fit for the Jays.

[P2F]

It's a small sample, but Drury has been pretty good since the calendar turned to July:

 

 

Perhaps it's too early to be punting him to the moon.

 

Another takeaway from this image is that Danny Jansen's defense is mindblowingly out-f***ing-standing.

 

Edit: This post received the instant Brandon Drury slam of approval.

Edited August 13, 2019 by P2F

[glory]

I don't think anyone's really going to lose sleep over Galvis (although he was once traded to SD for a decent AAA SP).

 

It's kind of annoying to give months of ABs to guys who you project to not be part of the future and to also return you nothing. Just roll out Urena in that case and really tank. Put Elvis Luciano at short, what does it matter? Keep URSHELA and put him at short, who gives a f***. At least he's 27 with team control.

 

Like how we were ready to give so many innings to f***ing Jackson, Buchholz and Richard. Rather go full Orioles and give months of ABs to s*** bags like Richie Martin on the 0.1% chance he's good then waste time with dead end vets.

 

Also if you dump Galvis, don't you immediately dump Smoak too? Tellez is killing AAA. I don't get it and I am minorly inconvenienced by this possibly meaningless but clearly sub-optimal use of major league roster spots!!!

 

They probably anticipated being able to trade Galvis, but maybe underestimated how other teams view him. They gave him more money than similar FA's got. If there is one thing you can count on with SHatkins is that they will try to move anyone on a short term deal, even if the return is s***. Galvis and Smoak must have had absolutely no value at all. I agree, get rid of Smoak too. Don't need him, and they can use 1B to give a bunch of younger talent playing time (Tellez, Drury, McKinney).

[Krylian]

It's a small sample, but Drury has been pretty good since the calendar turned to July:

 

 

Perhaps it's too early to be punting him to the moon.

 

Another takeaway from this image is that Danny Jansen's defense is mindblowingly out-f***ing-standing.

 

Edit: This post got the Brandon Drury slam of approval.

 

And Vladdy's is horr-f***ing-endous.

[Brownie19]

 

Also if you dump Galvis, don't you immediately dump Smoak too? Tellez is killing AAA. I don't get it and I am minorly inconvenienced by this possibly meaningless but clearly sub-optimal use of major league roster spots!!!

 

I wonder if there's consideration to extending or re-signing Smoak. Unlike Galvis, we still need a 1st baseman next year unless we are prepared to move Vlad there or are confident Tellez doesn't suck.

[Slade]

I wonder if there's consideration to extending or re-signing Smoak. Unlike Galvis, we still need a 1st baseman next year unless we are prepared to move Vlad there or are confident Tellez doesn't suck.

 

Nah Smoaks gone, I'm sure they are hoping someone picks him up on waivers too.

 

They can get more flexibility in the lineup with Drury and Tellez. It just doesn't make sense to keep Smoak.

[Laika]

Also if you dump Galvis, don't you immediately dump Smoak too? Tellez is killing AAA. I don't get it and I am minorly inconvenienced by this possibly meaningless but clearly sub-optimal use of major league roster spots!!!

 

There's an argument for it but it's not as obvious. AAA numbers aside, Rowdy Tellez is not really a good prospect and not somebody that you ever make roster room for.

 

It also depends on the player... if Smoak is content and happy in Toronto, they might want to sign him back for 2020 on a cheap deal to plug the 1B hole, or at least keep the option open, so releasing makes no sense. With Galvis there seemed to be some consideration for the fact that his starting spot was gone and a "contender" would probably claim him and he would prefer a heavier role with a "contender". But who knows, maybe they will cut Smoak loose to maybe save some coin.

 

I just find it funny that guys like you, who are obviously not stupid, will do these mental contortions and throw lines like "Tellez is killing AAA" into some weird justification for releasing Justin Smoak as some sort of weird parallel in order to get their panties in a knot about Freddy Galvis leaving town for nothing. Jesus! Shapiro and Atkins need to hire some better PR because this fan environment is stupid.

[Grant77]

I wonder if there's consideration to extending or re-signing Smoak. Unlike Galvis, we still need a 1st baseman next year unless we are prepared to move Vlad there or are confident Tellez doesn't suck.

 

We should make a strong effort to resign Smoak in my opinion. He's walking at an astounding rate and striking out at career low levels. His exit velocity is also great, he's hitting the ball hard more than ever.

 

There's very good reason to believe that he will be a beast at the plate next season and he certainly isn't blocking anyone. I'd like to see Atkins depart from his 'clean house at all costs regardless of value' approach and bring him back.

[Terminator]

Just sign a newer, better piece in the off-season for Galvis’ projected role.

 

Jesus, you f***ing crybabies

 

Lol you think the Jays are going to sign someone better than a guy coming off a 2 WAR year to be the backup MIF? I highly doubt that.

[Dick_Pole]

Shapiro and Atkins need to hire some better PR because this fan environment is stupid.

 

Maybe you're going for the role.

 

People complained about AA's bad roster management. This is piss poor ridiculous. A perfectly serviceable MIF depth jettisoned for nothing two weeks after the deadline. A 2 WAR player for $5 million. Extrapolate that level of efficiency among $50 million and you have a contending team.

 

Galvis didn't have a lack of value. The Reds obviously valued him. The problem is Atkins has absolutely no hustle or negotiating skill. What's the point of being smart if you half ass your job? This guy better hope that his prospects turn out because outside of drafting and player development Atkins has been mediocre to terrible in all other aspects of being a GM. Luckily drafting and PD are the two most important aspects of developing a contender.

 

Two main themes have popped up ITT:

 

1. That Montoyo played Galvis too much

 

2. The Jays are being nice by letting Galvis play more for a contender.

 

f*** that. Defending this pathetic beta male Atkins from his beta male actions. First, he should pull up his big boy pants, look Montoyo, his subordinate, in the eye and tell him he wants the kids playing more if that was indeed an issue.

 

As far as Galvis is concerned, he should pull up his big boy pants twice as hard, look him in the eye and tell him this is his new limited role here now. Galvis knew or should have known that at best the Jays were going to be a fringe contender this year and next. He also should have known with two near-MLB ready MIF in the system that he had a good chance of losing some playing time at some point during his contract. If Galvis doesn't like it, he should fire his agent.

 

Instead Atkins once again takes the weenie coward way out of dealing with potential problems and dumping the guy for less than his value (in this case nothing). And the weenies here are defending him by saying that Galvis was no big deal. Other than the 2 WAR per $5M I already mentioned, Galvis isn't an isolated incident. It shows a pattern of s***** behaviour by Atkins. And you guys are eating it up because he is living off the recent call-ups that are more AA's legacy than his own.

[Terminator]

On one hand, $5.5 mil for a backup is expensive but the guy is a fringe starter worth 1.5 to 2 WAR so he's worth it. Especially when he can play defense pretty well and none of Vlad, Bo or Biggio seem too. The playing time and contender excuses sound like a way to cover for penny pinching to me. Galvis should have 0 say in where he plays. He knew he was signing a 1+1 deal with a rebuilding team with top notch IF prospects when he signed here.

[Abomination]

On one hand, $5.5 mil for a backup is expensive but the guy is a fringe starter worth 1.5 to 2 WAR so he's worth it. Especially when he can play defense pretty well and none of Vlad, Bo or Biggio seem too. The playing time and contender excuses sound like a way to cover for penny pinching to me. Galvis should have 0 say in where he plays. He knew he was signing a 1+1 deal with a rebuilding team with top notch IF prospects when he signed here.

 

What we don't know is what they discussed when signing the deal. I suspect there's a strong likelihood they had some kind of verbal agreement that if Galvis was going to lose his starting spot, he'd be given the option to be traded (if possible) or released. We didn't know how quickly Bichette and the rest would get here. Having that security for 2 years (if necessary) was likely very important to the front office if something went wrong.

[Grant77]

On one hand, $5.5 mil for a backup is expensive but the guy is a fringe starter worth 1.5 to 2 WAR so he's worth it. Especially when he can play defense pretty well and none of Vlad, Bo or Biggio seem too. The playing time and contender excuses sound like a way to cover for penny pinching to me. Galvis should have 0 say in where he plays. He knew he was signing a 1+1 deal with a rebuilding team with top notch IF prospects when he signed here.

 

We're down to 30 million in salary for next season plus arbitration for Giles, Drury, and Shoemaker (maybe Law, Maile, Tepera).

 

All of these salary cutting moves will hopefully lead to us spending big on pitching. That means the Cole, Strasburg, Darvish, Wheeler, Pineda end of the pool and not the Buchholz, Richard, Jackson end.

[Spanky99]

Atkins on the Galvis situation...

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/atkins-talks-open-communication-galvis-deadline/

 

Shi Davidi article on the move... with the above Atkins comments and Biggio on Galvis video.

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-freddy-galvis-win-parting-ways/

 

TORONTO – Through a hyper-local lens, the Toronto Blue Jays’ parting with Freddy Galvis

 

For a team focused on 2020 and beyond, opening up more defensive innings and extra at-bats for young players over the remainder of the season makes total sense. So, too, does giving a highly respected veteran like the 29-year-old shortstop a chance to play regularly for a team still chasing a wild-card berth, like the Cincinnati Reds are.

 

A split, accomplished in August through outright waivers, is the right thing for both sides.

 

Still, there’s a broader perspective to this, as well, one which ties into the elimination of the August revocable waiver period and shift to a single, July 31 trade deadline in the majors.

 

In general terms, what seemed to happen this year was that buyers waited until the last minute to strike deals, expecting that sellers would lower their prices before the cut-off in order to get something, anything in return. Only they largely didn’t blink and some notable buyers, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers among them, didn’t make any substantive adds.

 

Within the larger game of chicken, a non-essential complementary piece like Galvis became somewhat lost in the shuffle. The Blue Jays could have given him away for nothing at that point, but they didn’t, believing then there was more value in maintaining him as a security blanket for Bo Bichette than clearing him out for nothing but financial relief.

 

The equation changed as Bichette showed he was more than capable of playing big-league defence at shortstop on a daily basis. That allowed the Blue Jays to comfortably pull the chute on Galvis, knowing there were interested contending teams that would pick up the remainder of his $4 million salary and either a $5.5-million club option for 2020 or $1 million buyout.

 

They made sure there was a soft landing for him before throwing him into the abyss.

 

The fact there were multiple claims for Galvis underscores how sensible it would have been for one of those clubs to invest a lottery-ticket prospect for a plus defender in the midst of a strong offensive campaign, even if only for depth issues.

 

There’s a lesson here for next year’s deadline, both about bolstering depth and in about not overplaying leverage against sellers.

 

"Potentially," said Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins. "It’s really interesting because this Freddy Glavis move was somewhat similar to Curtis Granderson (who the Blue Jays traded to Milwaukee last Aug. 31). We got Demi Orimoloye (an advanced-A outfielder) and now, not having that outlet, you don’t have that alternative. So could be.

 

"But it’s a matter of what other teams are willing to do. They were transparent about that at the deadline and there wasn’t a deal we were comfortable doing."

 

Now, the flip side to that is other teams may very well have figured that the Blue Jays would eventually end up in the spot they were this weekend, when they decided to put Galvis on waivers, and that they would have another shot at him either through a claim or in free agency if he cleared.

 

They would have been right, as it turned out, but they surrendered control over the outcome in what is essentially a post-deadline buyout market made up of veterans cut by teams looking to clear playing time for young players. Galvis probably won’t be the last player to change hands in such fashion.

 

As the Blue Jays continue to pivot toward 2020, you have to wonder how pending free agent Justin Smoak fits into the mix, although he has a unique value as the last remaining grownup on the roster.

 

Galvis brought plenty to the table in that regard, especially given the connection he was able to build with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Teoscar Hernandez, but as Atkins pointed out, "a lot of the mentoring has happened."

 

"A lot of these guys have already learned and grown a great deal and I think it will continue to happen among the group that’s in there," Atkins continued. "I would love to have Freddy around on a daily basis. But I also feel Freddy’s earned the right to play every day and he’s going to a place where he’s going to be playing on a regular basis. That outweighed it."

 

For the Blue Jays, the best use of the season’s remaining six-and-a-half weeks is in figuring out just how good Bichette, Guerrero and Cavan Biggio are defensively, ensuring continued opportunity for Brandon Drury, Teoscar Hernandez, Derek Fisher and Billy McKinney and eventually giving another look to Rowdy Tellez, Jonathan Davis and Anthony Alford.

 

As Atkins very correctly pointed out, "having the flexibility to use that DH spot is very valuable for this young team."

 

Atkins insisted that Galvis was happy to finish out the season with the Blue Jays and hadn’t requested the change, but "I was just open with him about what it could mean for him and he was very appreciative."

 

In doing right by him, the Blue Jays also did right for themselves in the process.

[Laika]

People in this thread seem really confused. Probably hangover from baseball's free agent market fallout.

 

But here is a good rule of thumb - a player on a free agent contract is likely not an "asset" relative to his contract. Start from this assumption every time.

 

Exceptions apply for players that have demonstrated projectable improvements (talent change), and perhaps for higher-end players depending on the landscape of the trade market.

 

I maintain that Freddy Galvis is essentially a non-asset so I won't abide any talk about bad asset-management. Sure, they could have perhaps talked a team into giving up a useless prospect like Demi Orimoloye for him, but they probably tried. He was an adequate placeholder. He was a lot more entertaining than Urena would have been.

[EastCoaster]

I don't get why people are confused or surprised about this move this was the best scenario for both parties. They tried to move Galvis at trade deadline but there was no suitor every team in contention already had their everyday SS nobody was willing to take on his contract and give up some their assets just to have someone to sit on the bench. The Blue Jays did the right thing by keeping Galvis especially if they couldn't get nothing for him nobody knew exactly how Bichette would adapt to big league but it came very clear quickly that this kid was the real deal and the need for Galvis for depth reason was unwarranted. Galvis is only 29 he still has a few good years left of baseball in him and there was no need for the Blue Jays to punish him for being the good mentor and teammate to these kids. The Front Office and Galvis were very open about the situation and both parties understood the role that he played here and management decided that giving Galvis a chance to play somewhere else by putting him on waivers was best. The Reds put in a claim and they got Galvis along with his contract.

 

Smoak is a different story he's the only veteran present on the team and his playing time is reduce he is 32 years old now you got Dury playing 1st base and also Billy McKinney. Now when Gurriel comeback there's 3 guys that has to be rotated in the DH and some position playing time. Now having the DH position open gives Montoyo the flexibility to give every player some playing time which he said he like to do with all his players. I don't see Tellez here before September call ups simply because there's no room. Management latest call ups tell a lot on what they're trying to decide about this team.

 

Smoak already expressed to management that he would be willing to resign with Blue Jays as veteran for the kids. The other thing that could come into consideration here is what condition will Vladdy show up at camp if he shows up heavy like he did this spring look for a transition to 1st base. Guerrero isn't your stellar 3rd baseman he among the leaders with errors committed he'll finish out the year at 3rd base but his physical condition might dictate on where he'll end up playing in the near future. They might keep Smoak around for one more season in case he needs to teach Vladdy on how to properly play 1st base.

[Spanky99]

Smoak already expressed to management that he would be willing to resign with Blue Jays as veteran for the kids. The other thing that could come into consideration here is what condition will Vladdy show up at camp if he shows up heavy like he did this spring look for a transition to 1st base. Guerrero isn't your stellar 3rd baseman he among the leaders with errors committed he'll finish out the year at 3rd base but his physical condition might dictate on where he'll end up playing in the near future. They might keep Smoak around for one more season in case he needs to teach Vladdy on how to properly play 1st base.

 

Where'd you hear/read that?

[Brownie19]

Didn't Atkins take a lot of s*** from fans for not holding out for more in a trade? It sounds like they held out for more on Galvis and in return, got nothing. If you want your GM to be an Alpha GM who's going to squeeze every ounce of value out of trades - then this type of thing is going to happen from time to time. You need to show other GM's that you're not a push over who will just take anything that's offered simply to get the deal done.

[glory]

Yeah, Smoak's stat cast numbers are still very good (launch angle, exit velocity, barrels, xwoba). Wouldn't shock me if Atkins brings him back on the cheap. Really depends on what they think of Tellez.

[Jonn]

Smoak already expressed to management that he would be willing to resign with Blue Jays as veteran for the kids.

 

I don’t know why the Blue Jays would want that. He can only play 1B/DH. If the Blue Jays are going to run a full season with a short bench you need versatile players that can play multiple positions. Galvis covered the infield and cold also play in LF in an emergency situation. Hell I believe he’s started a game at CF in his career as well.

 

I would rather they look to upgrade 1B. With a better player peroid or someone young that can project at the position for the foreseeable future. Smoak has been atrocious in the second half. Last night was the first time he did anything productive in nearly a month. Would like to move on from him sooner rather than later. Give those AB’s to Tellez.

[Deadpool]

Smoak has been atrocious in the second half. Last night was the first time he did anything productive in nearly a month.

 

A .726 OPS and a wRC+ of 96 with a BABIP of .211 in the second half isn't want I'd call atrocious, particularly when you're talking a sample size of 26 games.

 

I would much rather have Smoak as our 1B next year over Tellez, I have little faith in Tellez as a long term piece.