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Phillies decide not to play Chase Utley at third base after all

Chase Utley, Eury Perez

Washington Nationals’ Eury Perez, right, steals second base as Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley tries to handle the throw in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, in Philadelphia. Washington won 7-3. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

AP

The Phillies have decided to put on hold the experiment of trying Chase Utley at third base before the season ends, and it sounds like the team has soured on the idea of making it a full-time switch next year.

Moving Utley to third and putting Freddy Galvis at second would really only make sense for the Phillies if they’re convinced it’d help Utley stay healthy. Despite his knee problems, Utley remains a find defender at second, and Galvis was a pretty brutal hitter even before getting hurt and being suspended for PEDs this year. The team would likely be best served by keeping Utley at second, bringing in a decent regular for third and letting Galvis serve as middle-infield insurance.