Last Updated on February 14, 2017 11:53 am by Brad Burns
Middle infielder fills big hole as camp opens
After using his 10-and-5 rights to veto a trade to the Braves in November, Brandon Phillips has clearly warmed to the idea of going back home.
Atlanta acquired the three-time All-Star on Sunday from Cincinnati in exchange for pitchers Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo. Phillips spent 11 seasons by the banks of the Ohio River, racking up 1,774 hits and 851 RBIs along the way. He also earned reputation as an elite defensive second baseman, capturing four Gold Gloves.
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The Reds’ shocking downturn in recent years, however, made Phillips’ name fly around the rumor mill nonstop. Now, he’ll join a slightly better situation in A-Town, where Brian Snitker’s club went 37-35 following the 2016 Midsummer Classic. Even so, online sports book Bovada.lv gives the mostly raw Braves odds of -4000 to claim the National League pennant this October.
Regardless of where Snitker’s troops finish in the standings, Phillips figures to occupy a run-producing lineup spot. The Stone Mountain product batted .291 with 34 doubles, 11 homers and a .320 on-base percentage in his final campaign as a Red. Only Robinson Cano boasts more base knocks than Phillips among second basemen over the past decade.
The Braves had originally hoped to enter their April 3 opener with uber-prospect Dansby Swanson and Sean Rodriguez serving as the double-play combination at Citi Field. Unfortunately, the latter was involved in a serious car crash three-plus weeks ago. Considering Rodriguez is expected to miss three to five months ago, look for Banister to lean quite heavily on veterans like Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis in the early going. But the multifaceted Phillips, at 35, could turn out to be the most instrumental graybeard of all.