Phillies ‘Kicking the Tires’ on Rafael Furcal, But Galvis gets First Shot at Short

According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick the Phillies are "kicking the tires" on Rafael Furcal.

He could potentially fill a hole for the Phils at short, where Freddy Galvis is expected to take over at following the trade of Jimmy Rollins.  Galvis his just .176 last season in 43 games, missing most of the season when broke his left collarbone in mid-May.

While Galvis will never be the hitter Rollins was, he is a very good defensive player.  I would much rather see him get a shot to play short, then see a 37-year old Furcal who is at the end of the line.  The Phillies need to get younger, Galvis is just 25, he may just need to be given a chance to play everyday.

He hit .267 with three homers in 135 at-bats for Lehigh Valley, if he can come up to the big club, play a great shortstop and hit about .240, he should be fine until J.P. Crawford is ready for the bigs.

Another possibility is Cesar Hernandez, the switch-hitting 24-year-old is a .260 career hitter in the majors and hit .237 last season in 66 games with the Phillies.  Last season he played 14 games at third, 11 at second and just four at shortstop. In 2013, Hernandez spent some time playing in the outfield for the Phils.