Freddy Galvis

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Charlie Manuel put Freddy Galvis in rightfield during a game on Saturday in Sarasota. On Tuesday, Galvis started in leftfield. Galvis had never played an inning in the outfield, ever. The assumption was that Galvis has been so good defensively everywhere the Phillies have tried him, why not try him in the outfield, too? But perhaps Manuel was trying to find a place for Galvis' bat, too. Galvis hit a two-run home run off Tampa Bay's Roberto Hernandez to lead the Phils to a 10-1 win on Tuesday.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Sal Agostinelli stood just outside the Phillies' clubhouse at Bright House Field on Tuesday morning and shouted in Spanish at Freddy Galvis as the 23-year-old Venezuelan shagged fly balls in left field. The translation: "I told him that 'I thought I signed you to be a shortstop,' " said Agostinelli, the Phillies' director of international scouting. Galvis continued to expand his positional resumé by starting in left field for the Phillies 10-1 Grapefruit League win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - The highest-paid outfielder on the Phillies roster has not enjoyed a particularly auspicious spring. He started all of 26 games during an injury-ridden 2012. There were hopes that other players would step up, but because of ineffectiveness or injury they didn't pan out. When everything settles, Laynce Nix could be introduced as a starting outfielder for the Phillies opener Monday at Atlanta's Turner Field. "We'll see what happens," Nix said. "I'm sure Charlie has his lineups made.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Barring an unforeseen trade or signing, Freddy Galvis will be on the big-league roster when the Phillies begin the 2013 season in Atlanta a week from Monday. Fellow infielder Yuniesky Betancourt was released following Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Since Galvis is the only viable backup shortstop in camp, the slick-fielding infielder was just about guaranteed a major league job as a result of the roster move. Galvis won over management a year ago, when he made a flawless transition from shortstop to second base and started at the position in place of Chase Utley when the 2012 season began.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Yuniesky Betancourt snared a line drive in the ninth inning Sunday and turned it into a double play for his final act as a Phillie. Six minutes after a 7-6 loss to Boston ended, Betancourt slipped on red shorts and walked to Charlie Manuel's office. He emerged a free agent four minutes later, destined for a job elsewhere in the majors. "It was a very difficult decision," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "He played great for us. We had some other guys feel great, and we're comfortable with where we are as far as those players are concerned.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Five miles away from Bright House Field, Delmon Young made his first exhibition appearance Friday in a Phillies uniform. Playing at the Toronto Blue Jays' minor-league complex in Dunedin, Young went 1 for 4 with a solo home run against R.A. Dickey, the 2012 National League Cy Young Award winner who was traded by the New York Mets during the offseason. "It was good to go out there and actually do something outside of batting practice and watch a game for five innings," Young said.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Charlie Manuel can't mask his love for Freddy Galvis. From the time the slick-fielding infielder stepped into the second-base spot for the first time in his life last spring to his holding down the position - and looking like a Gold Glover in doing so - in the first 2 months of the 2012 season, Galvis won over his big-league manager. But Chase Utley is healthy and set to take the field for his first Opening Day start in 3 years. Jimmy Rollins is back from the World Baseball Classic and ready to return to shortstop, and veteran Michael Young has handled his return to third base with ease this spring.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The first workout was 27 days ago and the first Grapefruit League game 17 days ago. As of Monday evening at 7:10, we were exactly 3 weeks from the first pitch of the 2013 season, slated for April 1 at Turner Field in Atlanta. It might not be the official halfway point of spring training, but it is half enough, so let's take a look at what camp has yielded thus far. What we know 1) Domonic Brown will be a member of the 2013 Opening Day roster: Even if he had not established himself as the top performer in camp during the first few weeks of Grapefruit League play, Brown likely would have been headed for a spot in left- or rightfield thanks to a lack of other options.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Charlie Manuel has been adamant all spring about his desire to have 23-year-old infielder Freddy Galvis on his roster. While the Phillies have some concerns about getting the switch-hitting defensive star enough work at the plate to continue his development, their manager is convinced of two things: 1) He can get Galvis 250 at-bats over the course of the season; 2) 250 at-bats at the major league level would be more beneficial to Galvis than 450 at-bats in the minors.