Cincinnati Reds: Three possible replacements for the injured Freddy Galvis

1. Kyle Farmer

As far as in-house options go, Kyle Farmer is the most likely player to get the call on Opening Day should Freddy Galvis be unable to take the field. Farmer, who’s never played shortstop at the majors league level, has seen three starts at the position so far this spring, racking up 14 innings of work, recording one error in nine chances.

Is Farmer an elite defender? No, but he can hold his own. Last year, Cincinnati dispersed Farmer at nearly every infield position, including catcher, but the 29-year-old never found time at shortstop. That could change drastically in 2020.

Is Farmer an elite hitter? Eh, the answer to that is the same as above. While Farmer is unlikely to hit better than .250, the right-handed hitting utility player slugged .410 last season, proving that he has the capability to send the ball out of the yard.

If Kyle Farmer is the Reds Opening Day starter on March 26th, he’s likely to be hitting way down in the lineup. Having Farmer’s bat in the No. 8 hole is not the worst problem to have, as Galvis himself has a career on-base percentage of just .296.

The biggest question mark should Farmer get the call on Opening Day would be on defense. Though he played shortstop in college, doing so at the major league level is an entirely different animal. Though, with the emphasis on defensive shifts being so prevalent nowadays, perhaps his lack of experience wouldn’t be such a hindrance.

2. Alex Blandino

As far as defensive options go, Alex Blandino is probably the best the Cincinnati organization has to offer if Freddy Galvis is sidelined to begin the 2020 season. Blandino has experience at shortstop, playing 11 games there during the 2018 season before he was upended trying to turn a double-play and missed significant time with a torn ACL.

The former Stanford standout was a first-round selection of the Cincinnati Reds back in 2014 and Blandino has slowly worked his way up the minor league ladder and is part of the 40-man roster. Blandino received a September call-up last season, hitting .250/.420/.361 with a double, a home run and three RBIs.

Blandino has fared well in spring ball so far, slashing .250/.400/.583 in six games. Like Kyle Farmer, Alex Blandino is a versatile infielder, capable of playing all four infield positions. Blandino has seen eight-plus innings of action at shortstop, second and third base this spring.

Something we saw from Blandino last season, albeit in limited action, was an increased walk-rate. According to FanGraphs, Blandino’s walk-rate was 20.0%, drawing 10 walks in 50 plate appearances during September.

We’ve seen Blandino put up just a 14.2% walk-rate thus far in Cactus League action, but players are working on a variety of things during spring camp. Should Blandino get the call on Opening Day, he’d be a solid fielding option, but little more than that. Blandino seems like a jack-of-all-trades, but master-of-none. He does a lot of things well, but nothing great.

3. Eugenio Suárez

For my money, if he’s healthy in his own right, I’d plug Eugenio Suárez in as the Cincinnati Reds starting shortstop on Opening Day in the event that Freddy Galvis is unable to go. Suárez has yet to take the field this spring, as he’s currently dealing with an injury of his own.

Suárez injured his shoulder in a pool accident earlier this winter, but all reports suggest that he’s slowly working his way back. If Geno makes his return before March 26th, the Reds should insert him into the lineup as the starting shortstop.

Starting Suárez at shortstop would provide Cincinnati with their best lineup. If Geno takes over at shortstop, where he 183 games of major league experience, the Reds could move Mike Moustakas to third base. Cincinnati would then have a bevy of options to fill in for Moose at second base, all of which give them better potential to score runs.

Derek Dietrich and Josh VanMeter come to mind. Both players offer a left-handed power bat and have shown the ability to cleanly field the position. While we said earlier that the Reds front office has scoffed at the idea of moving Nick Senzel to shortstop, he did have 28 starts at second base for Triple-A Louisville in 2018.

Geno hasn’t played a game at shortstop since 2018, but with the defensive shifts employed in today’s game, there’s plenty of times when we’ve seen Suárez shade to his left and setup where the shortstop would typically be playing.

If Freddy Galvis is unable to go, the Cincinnati Reds have options. None of the potential fits are ideal, but depth behind Galvis is scarce to say the least. Galvis hasn’t shown much durability since joining the Reds, but hopefully, the 30-year-old Venezuelan native is able to get back onto the field before the end of camp.