Phillies' to-do list

BY RYAN LAWRENCE, Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: October 09, 2012

WHAT THE PHILS WILL DO:

Ruben Amaro Jr. and Charlie Manuel love Freddy Galvis. They gush over his defense and baseball acumen. They wanted him in the field enough that they endorsed Chase Utley taking ground balls at third base in a monthlong experiment that was eventually shut down.

With Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins healthy, the only hole the Phils should have is third base and it says here that Galvis will be given the job this spring after adjusting to the position just as easily as he moved from shortstop to second base last spring.

Galvis' defense would improve an infield that needs to make plays regularly behind a team built around pitching.

WHAT THE PHILS SHOULD DO:

Call up the San Diego Padres. Ask what it would take to acquire Chase Headley. Meet their price.

OK, this is the stuff of fantasy baseball, but there would be no better addition to the Phillies aging, injury-plagued and power-deprived lineup than 28-year-old Headley, who hit 31 home runs and sported an .875 OPS in 2012. Headley was on the trading block earlier this summer, before both he and the Padres finished the season looking like a team bound for a bounce-back season in 2013.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Padres, who got new owners this summer, attempt to lock up Headley. But it can't hurt to call, either.

If not Headley, the Phils should find a capable player for this base than can add power to the lineup. Finding a David Freese is easier said than done, but if the Cardinals uncovered him, much like the Phils found Jayson Werth a half dozen winters ago, perhaps Ruben Amaro Jr. can find a similar, diamond in the rough.

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