Will Cesar Hernandez be traded this offseason? (Frank Klose/SportsTalkPhilly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
By next May, the Philadelphia Phillies will have at least six infielders that could potentially start for many major league teams: Rhys Hoskins, J.P. Crawford, Scott Kingery, Maikel Franco, Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez. While reports have indicated that the Phillies aren't necessarily scared by the idea of having a surplus of infield talent, it still feels fairly likely that at least one of the last two names listed will be traded before the 2018 season.
Monday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that the Phillies have received offers for both Galvis and Hernandez. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic later noted that the San Diego Padres are one of the teams interested in Galvis. A familiar suitor continues to be the team most connected to Hernandez.
According to Rosenthal, the Los Angeles Angels, who have been connected to Hernandez for over a year now, remain interested in Hernandez:
The Los Angeles Angels have maintained their interest in second baseman Cesar Hernandez, according to major league sources.
This comes on the heels of a report last month from Pedro Moura of The Los Angeles Times, which said that the Angels had ''extensively examined'' Hernandez throughout the course of the 2017 season. Last December, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reported that the Angels had checked in on Hernandez, but were unwilling to meet the high asking price that general manager Matt Klentak had on Hernandez. That seems in line with a report that Salisbury published in February, where he noted that while the Phillies were willing to listen to offers on Hernandez, they had a "very steep price" on him.
It's entirely possible that the Angels are one of the teams that have made an offer to the Phillies on Hernandez this offseason. Salisbury did note in his report earlier this week that the Phillies haven't found an offer they liked for Hernandez (or Galvis), though the fact that the Angels remain interested in Hernandez leads you to think they do believe there's a chance a deal could eventually be completed.
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Hernandez, 27, led the Phillies in walks for the third consecutive season in 2017, while also continuing to get good marks in the field. This came after a breakout 2016 season where he slashed .294/.371/.393, while posting a 4.3 fWAR. In addition to being a pretty consistent hitter and a strong fielder, Hernandez has elite speed. The right coaching staff could turn him into a pretty electric base stealer.
The Phillies are likely to open the season with Scott Kingery at Triple-A, so they avoid him accumulating an extra year of service time. For the first month or so of the 2018 season, Hernandez could remain at second. Once Kingery is called up, however, Hernandez would likely become an overqualified super-utility player. Given the Phillies need for pitching, it may make the most sense for them to use Hernandez to acquire starting pitching help.
