Freddy Galvis' long-term future with the Phillies is unclear. (Frank Klose/SportsTalkPhilly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia Phillies manager Pete Mackanin seems committed to allowing Freddy Galvis to play in all 162 games this season. How many games Galvis starts for the Phillies after the 2017 season is less clear.
As the long-awaited call-up of shortstop J.P. Crawford appears imminent, Galvis may be displaced during some games, as he was when the team had him play center field during the second game of a double-header Wednesday. But Galvis isn't a center fielder, and the Phillies hope next week is the beginning of a fruitful tenure with Crawford as their long-term shortstop.
Naturally, that makes the future of Galvis with the Phillies murky. He told the collective media earlier this week, which included Jim Salisbury of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, that he doesn't worry about his future:
Asked about his future, Galvis said, "I don't know. I'm not God. I will take it day by day and see what happens."
Mackanin will be able to manage the Galvis/Crawford combination for the rest of the season, especially since there won't be an expectation that Crawford is going to play every game. 2018, assuming both are on the major league roster, won't be that simple.
Galvis, who will likely be coming off of a second consecutive top-five Gold Glove Award finish at shortstop, will be in a contract year. He's one of the best fielding shortstops in the MLB, during an era that features quite a few strong fielding shortstops. With that said, he's, at best, a serviceable offensive player, making him more of a fit to be a super-utility piece on a contending team.
The problem is that the Phillies don't know exactly what Crawford is. Crawford is batting just .239 at Triple-A this year, although he's slashing .280/.376/.495 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs since the All-Star break. He also is yet to achieve the high upside that he has as a fielder, a problem that Galvis dealt with early in his career as well. It does feel unlikely that he will ever be as good of a fielder as Galvis, even as he grows at the position.
Crawford will be on the 40-man roster next season, so even if he opens the season in Triple-A, he's unlikely to spend too much time there. Once he's up, the Phillies will probably want to give him as many at-bats as possible, all while keeping Galvis, who can be a free-agent after 2018 and is a team leader, in the lineup.
While Crawford has spent some time playing third base at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the idea of him and Galvis in the same lineup together consistently is hard to imagine because it would seem to leave the Phillies without enough power (or just consistent hitting) from the left side of the infield. Maikel Franco, despite what has been a miserable 2017 season, will likely still factor into the equation as well. Cesar Hernandez seems like a likely trade candidate, but if he's still here, he will likely also be competing for time at third base, because Scott Kingery figures to be with the major league club early in 2018.
The feeling you are left with is that the Phillies may be able to make Crawford and Galvis co-exist for the rest of the 2017 season. However, in the same way that Rhys Hoskins' play has made clear that Tommy Joseph probably won't be with the team in 2018, if the Phillies see enough from Crawford, it's possible that a trade of Galvis this offseason may make the most sense for all parties involved.
