4:55pm: Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells MLB.com’s Ian Browne that Phillips will spend some time at the team’s spring complex in Florida getting into playing shape before reporting to Triple-A Pawtucket (Twitter links). Notably, the organization doesn’t view him solely as a second baseman, as Dombrowski notes that Phillips “can play a number of positions.” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, meanwhile, tweets that Phillips will actually be playing third base in Pawtucket when he gets there.
3:45pm: The Red Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve agreed to a minor league contract with veteran infielder Brandon Phillips. The longtime Reds second baseman had not signed with a team since the end of the 2017 season, so he’ll assuredly require some time to ramp up in the minors before he can be considered an option to join the big league club. Phillips is represented by ACES.
Second base has been an issue for the Red Sox all season, as they’ve been without Dustin Pedroia nearly all year following offseason knee surgery. Pedroia did return briefly, suiting up for three games before landing back on the DL with inflammation and discomfort in his surgically repaired knee. Eduardo Nunez has shouldered the bulk of the workload at second base this season in lieu of Pedroia, but he’s struggled mightily, hitting just .253/.284/.350 through 272 plate appearances to date.
Phillips, who’ll turn 37 tomorrow, isn’t the player he was during his peak, when he hit .280/.330/.449 with outstanding defense and above-average baserunning from 2007-12. That said, the three-time All-Star still posted a quite respectable .285/.319/.416 slash in 604 plate appearances between the Braves and Angels last season, delivering 13 homers and 11 steals.
Phillips is a four-time Gold Glover, but his defensive ratings dipped in 2016-17, with both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved providing a negative valuation of his glovework. He’s also been inefficient on the bases, as evidenced by a 25-for-41 success rate (61 percent) in stolen-base attempts over the past two seasons. Still, he’ll bring some valuable depth to an area of weakness for a Red Sox club that still doesn’t know when, or perhaps even if, Pedroia will return to the Major League roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Good signing, no risk. Solid reward
I don’t think he has anything left but boy do I hope I’m wrong! Hard to see him being much better or worse than Nunez but depth doesn’t hurt
BP has aged pretty well. I can’t imagine him declining below .255/.290/.360 aka the Nunez Zone
Those are not bad hitting numbers sheesh
He is getting a hit in better than 1/4 chances
I wouldn’t call a ~.650 OPS particularly good
Angels would take those numbers for a second baseman
We have a good candidate in Fletcher but Sosh will play a washed up vet over a young guy every time.
Probably doesn’t bode well for Pedroia…
Makes you wonder if this is a move in-case Pedroia can’t play. Phillips could be a potential RH stick to spell Devers against lefties.
Lost season for Pedroia, and this move indicates the Red Sox don’t expect him back any time soon if at all this year. Is Phillips the best man for the job? No, but he’s available. Have to agree with joshua.barron1 that I don’t think he’s got anything left, but I hope it works out for all parties involved.
Phillips will have very little in the tank given how long he has been out there with NO takers. Plus it will take him at least one month to be in game shape at his age.
This just shows how empty the farm system is for the Red Sox. They have NOBODY to plug into the infield and NOBODY to trade to get a good infielder.
This is a perfect Trader Dave move. He loves the old experienced guys.
MY55: You are like an annoying fly with no swatter in sight. Such will come in October but until then bring something new to the table or just please go away.
I don’t think Phillips had “NO takers”, he’s been pretty picky about where he’ll play outside of Cinci. Do I expect much? No. But I’m rooting for the Dat dude B Phil.
*rooting for Dat Dude B Phil.
Reported on MLB Network that he will play third.
Finally! He didn’t deserve to be sitting around for this long
Yes he did
in 2017 he hit .285/.319/.416 13/60/11. He didn’t rate well with the glove but he’s definitely a serviceable option at 2B. So far the Sox 2B have produced .242/.282/.337 3/22/5. It’s fine if you want to say that he deserved to be unsigned until the end of June*…..but at least back it up.
hasnt had an OPS+ above 1oo since 2011. is it really a shock that he didnt have any offers prior to this? young persons game, and no real need for a player like phillips when you can get the same production from your AAA 2B
OPS+ doesn’t control for position. An OPS of .735 is average for a 2B.
Even if his bat isn’t league average, it’s alright for a backup infielder. Especially when there’s been guys nowhere near as good who keep latching on around the game.
The problem is Goat that they will want him to play more than a backup infielder. Remember Pedroia is finished, Devers’ defense has more holes than swiss cheese and Nunez is over exposed when he plays more than a few games per week.
And the clown speaks he crawls out from under his bridge whenever a Mets or Red Sox article is posted go back to your moms basement. I have never seen you bring anything constructive to one of these conversations. You are however the biggest clown on the site congrats.
Wowzer
Glad to see that he was signed by the Red Sox. He played well last season especially with the Braves.
Good pickup. BP can still pick it.
From one over-the-hill guy to another Miggy?
Awesome pickup. Should work out well
Surprised it took this long for someone to pick him up. I mean, hes past his prime sure, but still serviceable on some team. Might not walk a lot but still strings together hits. 160 hits from a player should really serve some value, even in the era of walks/OBP. The amount of base hits he has should cover the lack of walks, considering hits are better than walks (walks get you on first and work the pitcher, but hits can have you end up on second, third, or a HR as well as move a lead runner from 1st to third instead of to 2nd, etc.).
Does anyone know how well his defense has held up over the years? Is he still above league average defensively?
He seems at best right around average defensively, according to UZR:
link to fangraphs.com
That makes it all the more surprising that some team somewhere didnt give him a shot until now.
Was thinking the Brewers could use a player like Phillips
This is a good signing.
This is the best pick up in Bosox history. Next Chris Boscio and Victor
I’m sure he had other minor league offers over the off season. Maybe he just liked this one: clear shot at both playing time and a post season run.
Mike Andrews is tied up……..
I was thinking Brewers should have gone after him. they don’t have nearly enough middle infielders…
Under the radar signing. As a yankees fan I’m impressed. No risk in this deal, and he’s gotta be an upgrade over Nunez and Pedroia
Who goes if the Red Sox call him up in two weeks?
If Lin is still on the team he will go down. If he’s already down decision between Holt(who has options) or finally saying good bye to Swihart.
Spike Owen not available?
Congrats JBJ on reaching .200
The Red Sox might be wise to hook up in a trade with the White Sox once again to solve their immediate need at 2B. They could do a whole lot worse than to inquire about Yolmer Sanchez who lost his job at 2B to Yoan Moncada only to then earn the starting 3B position with the White Sox.
The switch-hitting Sanchez has always flashed an excellent glove but has now exceeded most expectations as an MLB hitter. His versatility would allow the Red Sox to move him all over the diamond if and when Dustin Pedroia returns to the lineup. Sanchez also holds three more years of arbitration eligible team control following this season.
From the White Sox perspective, trading Sanchez this summer might net them their best potential return since he has shown solid MLB ability now at two positions in the infield. Moving Sanchez might also allow the organization an opportunity to transition Moncada from 2B to 3B in the next 1-1/2 seasons in order to make way for their 2018 #1 draft pick Nick Madrigal who profiles best defensively at the keystone position. Madrigal figures to be on a fast track to the South Side as the top rated college position player. In addition to providing potential Gold Glove caliber defense at 2B he also figures to be the White Sox core leadoff hitter, perhaps as soon as late next season or by 2020.
650 OPS wow that’s sounds promising lol
This is just an insurance policy in case Pedroia can’t go this year at all.
Betts back to 2B is a possibility? Seems it wouldn’t be difficult to fill RF. More glove work for JD? Lind has had some time in the OF, but that chapter may be closed. Rusney perhaps?
There is no chance Betts, the best defensive right fielder in the game, goes back to second.
Mets should have signed him. He would have instantly become their best player.
Personally I like the move a lot. He’s had time to rest and will be essentially getting in shape for what may be just 40-50 games and a playoffs! I’m sure he can go all out in that scenario at just 37! You may see him totally motivated and ready to put the peddle down for a ring before he goes out! Mark it down if we don’t sign another 2b because we needed the trade chips for an SP/RP/C or some other more pressing hole. Veterans sometimes play with a chip on the shoulder and BP is just the type to rise to my hype.