Blue Jays: Freddy Galvis switches numbers in classy gesture

One of the newest members of the Toronto Blue Jays is impressing early on after a classy gesture toward one of the franchise’s greats.

Freddy Galvis was slated to don number “19” in his first season with the Blue Jays, the 29-year old was attempting to pay homage to his fellow countryman Marco Scutaro, who spent two seasons with the Blue Jays.

The infielder soon had second thoughts after realizing the number had been worn by slugger Jose Bautista for a decade north of the border. Bautista was a polarizing figure and captivated a nation with a single flip of his bat in 2015, the slugger walloped 288 homers during his tenure in Toronto. Galvis gave this reasoning for the switch:

"“Bautista did an amazing job with Toronto … I respect the guy and the job he did for Toronto and I decided not to use that number, for my part, I have to show some respect to him because he’s a really good player and just left that number.”"

Galvis will instead opt for the number “16”, a number that hasn’t been worn since Dan Johnson‘s cup of coffee with the Jays in 2014.

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The Blue Jays inked the classy infielder this offseason to a one-year pact with a team option for the 2020 campaign. Galvis is known for his strong defensive play and is expected to receive the lions share of the workload at shortstop.

Galvis will undoubtedly assist in the development of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. who in all likelihood will see more time at second base and left field due to the free agent signing. Gurriel had a breakout season offensively in 2018, however, made nine errors in 65 games during his rookie campaign.

The native of Venezuela got his Blue Jays career off on the right foot showing his character with a genuinely classy move, well done, Freddy.