Braves acquire Brandon Phillips in trade with Reds

The Atlanta Braves announced Sunday that they’ve acquired veteran second baseman Brandon Phillips — an Atlanta native — from the Cincinnati Reds.

FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal was the first to report a trade was nearing completion. The Reds will receive minor league pitchers Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman adds that Atlanta will only pay $1M of Phillips’ $14M salary this season, and ESPN’s Jim Bowden says he’ll receive a no-trade clause with an assignment bonus.

Phillips, 35, has been no stranger to trade talks over the past two seasons. In fact, the Reds thought they had a trade agreement with the Washington Nationals last winter. That was ultimately nixed by Phillips, who exercised his full no-trade rights that accompany his 10-and-5 status. That’s 10 years service time in the major leagues, and at least five with his current team.

Not a lot of players achieve that status in today’s game, but Phillips used it in what he felt was an advantageous negotiating ploy to land an extension or a financial settlement. Neither came.

It’s also reported Phillips rejected a trade to Atlanta in November. Perhaps there’s a settlement in play this time, or perhaps he’s seen the writing on the wall with Cincinnati deep into a rebuild. Either way, he’s headed to a less desirable situation than Washington in terms of playing for a championship.

The Braves do hope to play contending baseball this season as they move into SunTrust Park. Phillips should serve as a modest upgrade for their lineup, though he’s obviously far from the impact player he once was. In 141 games last seasons, Phillips posted a disappointing .291/.320/.426 battling line to go with 11 homers and 64 RBIs. He’s averaged a mere 10 homers over the last three seasons after averaging 20 the previous eight.

It’s reported the Braves moved to acquire Phillips after learning Sean Rodriguez will require surgery for an injury sustained in a car accident. He’s expected to miss three-to-five months.

Source corrects: Surgery for Sean Rodriguez is NOT minor. Expected to be out 3 to 5 months.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 12, 2017