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Blue Jays: What signing Freddy Galvis means for the other shortstops

By Chris Henderson

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Freddy Galvis #13 of the San Diego Padres scores on a sacrifice fly from Wil Myers #4 against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the third inning at AT&T Park on September 26, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Freddy Galvis #13 of the San Diego Padres scores on a sacrifice fly from Wil Myers #4 against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the third inning at AT&T Park on September 26, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 23: Richard Urena #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays gets the force out of Tommy Pham #29 of the Tampa Bay Rays at second base but cannot turn the double play in the first inning during MLB game action at Rogers Centre on September 23, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 23: Richard Urena #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays gets the force out of Tommy Pham #29 of the Tampa Bay Rays at second base but cannot turn the double play in the first inning during MLB game action at Rogers Centre on September 23, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Richard Urena

Aside from Gurriel Jr. the player that might be most directly affected by Galvis’ signing could be Richard Urena.

My assumption was that Urena would start the season as the back-up infielder in Toronto next year, especially because of his ability to play shortstop. The infield should also include guys like Brandon Drury, Devon Travis, and first basemen like Justin Smoak and maybe even Rowdy Tellez. Urena is capable and experienced at shortstop, third, and second base, so he’s a decent fit as the extra infielder.

However, he could certainly benefit from a little more time served in the minor leagues as well, even if his best performances have come at the highest level. Last season he slashed .293/.340/.364 in 108 plate appearances with the Blue Jays, but that was a pretty small sample size. In 2017, he hit .206/.270/.309 in 78 plate appearances, which is probably closer to his reality at this point. For example, last year in Triple-A Buffalo he slashed .216/.250/.344, so there’s work to be done on offence.

Now that Galvis is in the fold it’s likely that Urena starts the season in Buffalo and has to wait for an injury before getting called up. That could be best for his long term development, but I’m sure he’ll be a little disappointed. Still, it’s a long season over the course of 162 games, so he’ll get another chance in 2019 at some point I’m sure. It’s probably just not coming on Opening Day.

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