Tennessee baseball earned another major win in the transfer portal Sunday when Wofford grad transfer Ryan Galanie committed to Tony Vitello and his staff over a number of suitors including Louisville and Texas.
But the drama isn’t over yet for Tennessee in its quest to get Galanie to Knoxville. The reigning SoCon Player of the Year is eligible for the 2023 MLB Draft. A MLB franchise will almost certainly select Galanie and it’s a real possibility that the right-handed hitter could start his professional career early and forego his final year of collegiate eligibility.
Galanie discussed his decision to commit to Tennessee baseball with RTI yesterday and also opened up about the real possibility that he could opt for professional baseball next season.
“That was something I was very open about with every coach that called me from the beginning,” Galanie said. “Of course it’s every player’s dream to play in the MLB one day and that’s my first goal. I feel like I have a good opportunity to do that.”
Galanie’s goal is to play in the major leagues, but what is he looking for out of a potential professional suitor in the upcoming MLB Draft? The versatile veteran doesn’t want to be taken advantage of during the signing process and wants to be treated fairly by a professional franchise.
“If I feel like I’m being taken advantage of at all— in the position I’m in now I’m a right-handed corner infielder that can hit a little bit. I’m a mid major guy that’s old,” Galanie said. “There’s not a whole lot of leverage and there’s definitely area for me to get taken advantage of a little bit by organizations so if I feel like I’m being taken advantage of I don’t plan on signing because all I want is fair value and I’ve been told I have the possibility to be a money saver guy on the second day. That’s kind of what I’m expecting but if I feel like it’s gone from money saver to taking advantage of me I don’t want to be a part of that. I want to be looking forward to going somewhere like Tennessee.”
Galanie is correct that he has little leverage as a four-year college player. Committing to Tennessee before the MLB Draft gives him some of the leverage he is looking for. Committing before the draft has worked out well for a number of players in the past including UConn’s Reggie Crawford who committed to Tennessee last summer before signing professionally with the San Fransisco Giants following the MLB Draft.
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What does fair value mean to Galanie?
Each MLB team has a set budget it can use to sign its 20-plus draft picks in the draft. Each slot in the first 10 rounds has a corresponding “slot value” which shows how much the signing bonus the MLB believes someone selected in that spot commands.
However, teams don’t have to respect the slot value and can sign its selected players under-or-over slot value. For a player lacking leverage like Galanie, franchises often offer signing bonuses well under the slot value because of the player’s lack of options. That’s what Galanie’s trying to avoid.
The Wofford transfer isn’t looking for a certain amount of money but wants whoever drafts him to respect his abilities with their signing bonus offer.
“I really don’t have a specific number,” Galanie said. “It’s kind of just the respect both ways. I feel like I’ve proven myself a lot up at Cape Cod that I’m not only a mid major bat but someone that can handle really good pitching.”
Galanie committed to Tennessee after dominating the SoCon last season. The corner infielder and corner outfielder hit .383 with 17 home runs, 15 doubles and 66 RBIs last season. Galanie had success against a number of top opponents including Tennessee and hit a home run off of Wake Forest All-American Rhett Lowder.
The SoCon Player of the Year was the fourth transfer to commit to Tennessee this offseason, joining AJ Causey, Nate Snead and Cannon Peebles.
Stay up to date with all Tennessee baseball transfer news by keeping track of the RTI transfer portal tracker.
