Blue Jays Sign Freddy Galvis

 The Toronto Blue Jays and free agent shortstop, Freddy Galvis have agreed to a one-year deal worth $4 million with a 2020 club option per Shi Davidi of SportsNet. In order to make room for Galvis on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays designated relief pitcher, Danny Barnes for assignment.

As Davidi also noted, the addition of Galvis makes sense for the Jays after they traded away shortstop Aledmys Diaz. It also provides insurance for young middle infielder, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who can now be spelled over to second base after struggling defensively last season posting a -6.8 UZR and -9 DRS at the shortstop position.

Galvis spent last season with the San Diego Padres, where he set a career high in DRS (7) at shortstop but posted a career-low -4.4 UZR. He also had a solid year offensively putting up a .248/.299/.380 line, with a wRC+ of 85, 13 home runs and 67 RBIs.

Earlier in the offseason, the Mets were reportedly among the teams looking at Galvis and his name was most mentioned when the team was looking to trade for J.T. Realmuto as Amed Rosario was part of the return request from the Miami Marlins.

Padres Eyeing Moustakas

 As Jon Heyman of Fancred tweeted out yesterday, while the San Diego Padres are still a candidate to land mega star shortstop, Manny Machado, a more realistic target they’re now looking into is third basemen, Mike Moustakas.

Current Padres’ first basemen, Eric Hosmer has allegedly lobbied for Moustakas, writes Heyman. This is far from a shocking report considering the two players were longtime teammates with the Kansas City Royals and won a World Series together back in 2015.

Marlins Sign Neil Walker

The Miami Marlins have signed veteran infielder, Neil Walker to a one year deal worth $2 million per club announcement and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Walker struggled mightily for the New York Yankees last season slashing a mere .219/,309/.354 line with a wRC+ of 81.

Walker, a Pittsburgh native, spent the first seven years of his career with his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates before signing with the New York Mets in 2016. He would then be dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers towards the end of the 2017 campaign until ultimately returning to New York for another year by signing with the Yankees last offseason.

In order to make room for Walker on their 40 man roster, the Marlins designated relief pitcher, Nick Wittgren for assignment, per Wells Dusenbury of The Sun Sentinel. Wittgren had an up and down year between triple A and the big leagues last season, but nonetheless posted a 2.94 ERA in 32 appearances. He also had a 1.59 ERA in the month of September after being called back up to the majors, which makes him a potentially cheap and solid bullpen option for a lot of ball clubs, who are still seeking relief pitchers on the open market.

Diamondbacks Extend Their Manager

The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed Manager, Torey Lovullo to a contract extension that will add two years to his deal and take him through the 2021 season per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

Since becoming Manager in 2017, Lovullo has gone 175-149 in his first two seasons with one postseason appearance. He also became the fastest manager to record 100 career wins in Diamondbacks franchise history.

Phillies Still in on Harper

Despite false reports that there had been a mega-deal agreed upon yesterday between the two sides, the Philadelphia Phillies are still very much in on outfielder, Bryce Harper, writes Heyman.

Harper met with Phillies Brass in his hometown of Las Vegas several weeks ago and the meeting reportedly had Philadelphia officials come away “very impressed.” Harper is seeking a record-setting deal in free agency and the Phillies have been very vocal about their willingness to spend “stupid money,” this offseason.

San Francisco Giants Seeking Multiple Outfielders

According to Buster Onley of ESPN, the San Francisco Giants are continuing to monitor the market for 2-3 more veteran outfielders. Onley also notes that the club has minimal financial flexibility to do so if they wish to avoid the Corporation Business Tax.

This heavy need in the outfield is due to the departure of all three Giants starting outfielders from a season ago in Hunter Pence, Andrew McCutcheon, and Gorkys Hernandez. This leaves an unproven trio of Chris Shaw, Austin Slater, and Steven Duggar slated to start this year, who only have a combined 511 major league at-bats between the three of them.

Jimmy Rollins Back with the Phillies as Special Advisor

 Longtime Philadelphia Phillies shortstop, Jimmy Rollins is returning to the Philadelphia Phillies organization as a special advisor per team Executive Vice President, David Buck. Rollins role will include being a coach during spring training, meeting with sponsors and suite holders, and engaging with fans, along with community outreach.

Rollins played 15 of his 17 seasons in the majors with the Phillies and put up a career stat line of .264/.324/.418. The three time All-Star also won the NL MVP Award in 2007 and is Philadelphia’s all-time franchise leader in hits (2,306) and doubles (479).