Cincinnati Reds: Freddy Galvis’ injury brings shortstop depth into question

Cincinnati Reds starting shortstop Freddy Galvis will be held out of action due to shoulder soreness. The team has little depth behind Galvis this season.

The Cincinnati Reds are rolling with Freddy Galvis this upcoming season. Last year’s late-season pickup will be the team’s starting shortstop, provided he’s healthy. Galvis is currently being held out due to shoulder soreness. Though the Reds full expect to get Galvis back onto the field in the coming days, the depth at shortstop is a bit concerning.

All offseason we’ve heard whispers of possible trade scenarios with an eye towards upgrading the shortstop position. Names like Francisco Lindor and Corey Seager were tossed about. However, it appears as though all along the Cincinnati Reds front office had Freddy Galvis in mind to man the position on Opening Day against the St. Louis Cardinals.

As a fan, I’m perfectly fine with that. Scott Boyken , a contributor at Blog Red Machine, wrote just last week about what Reds Country may in store for this upcoming season with Galvis taking over for José Iglesias at shortstop. Galvis owns the highest fielding percentage among active shortstops and only two National League shortstops exceeded his 23 homers last year.

While I’m not concerned about Galvis, I do have a little apprehension about the depth behind him at the shortstop position. Currently, if Galvis were unable to go, the Reds would likely turn to either Alex Blandino or Kyle Farmer.

Now, I’m a big fan of Farmer. Strangely, while last December fans were drooling over the prospects of Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood in a Reds uniform, Farmer is the only player from last winter’s trade with Los Angeles who’s still on the roster. According to David Bell, Farmer will be getting a lot more reps at shortstop this spring. Here’s a quote from Bell via MLB.com:

"“I know he didn’t play much there during the season. He did play it in Spring Training a little bit last year, so we got to see him. We have a lot of confidence in his ability to play there. He was a shortstop growing up, and he played there in college. He was a really good one.”"

Again, I’m rooting for Farmer and think his ability to adapt to playing shortstop in a pinch could pave the way for Cincinnati to actually keep six outfielders on the 26-man roster. However, having a player with one major league inning as your primary backup at shortstop is concerning.

There’s always the prospects of keeping Blandino on the active roster and having him backup Galvis. However, if you’re giving me the choice between keeping Alex Blandino or Phillip Ervin on the 26-man roster, I’m taking Ervin every time and rolling with Farmer as the backup at shortstop. I’d say the same thing if it came down to Blandino and Derek Dietrich for the final roster spot.

The Reds have options, and according to Bell via MLB.com, Galvis is just “a few days behind.” Look for Farmer and Blandino, as well as non-roster invitee Christian Colón to get the bulk of reps at shortstop until Freddy Galvis returns to the lineup.