Cincinnati Reds: Three possible replacements for the injured Freddy Galvis

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.