Phillies have reportedly been among most aggressive inquirers on Joey Gallo
The Phillies reportedly have interest in Rangers slugger Joey Gallo. (Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons)
Even after acquiring Asdrubal Cabrera from the New York Mets Friday evening, the Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly interested in another at-bat.
According to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, Matt Klentak’s front-office has reportedly shown interest in first baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers:
According to two major league sources, Cleveland and Philadelphia have been among the most aggressive in inquiring about Gallo.
Still just 24, Gallo does have 53 walks, 25 home runs and 56 RBIs in 2018. However, he’s batting just .190 and has struck out 138 times this season. A season ago, Gallo slashed .209/.333/.537 with 41 home runs, 80 RBIs and a 20.0 offensive WAR. Despite striking out nearly 200 times and hitting just over the Mendoza line, he was still a productive offensive player. But in an Adam Dunn type way, if he’s not hitting 40 plus home runs, he’s not especially valuable.
It’s unclear exactly what it would take to acquire Gallo, who won’t be eligible for free-agency until after 2022. Depending on what front-office you talk to, Gallo would be viewed very differently.
It’s also not immediately clear what position the Phillies would plan to play Gallo at. Carlos Santana is entrenched at first, while Rhys Hoskins, a natural first baseman, is in left field. Gallo does have experience at third base, though given how well Maikel Franco has hit of late, the Phillies seem unlikely to take him out of the lineup. J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery could also end up at third base long-term depending how things shake out with the team’s expected pursuit of Manny Machado this offseason, so it’s really unclear how Gallo would fit into the team’s plans beyond 2018.
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