Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves acquire Brandon Phillips from Cincinnati Reds

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:02 p.m. ET

Fansided, Brad Berreman/Fansided

After using his power to veto trades multiple times, Brandon Phillips is finally on the move.

As the Cincinnati Reds look to rebuild, one of their most obvious trade chips has been Brandon Phillips. But the veteran second baseman blocked trades to the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks a year ago, and he reportedly did the same to a potential deal with the Atlanta Braves back in November.

However, a report last month suggested a trade sending Phillips to the Braves was not dead, and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was first to report late Saturday night that the trade is close to happening.

Now, pending a physical, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Phillips is indeed on the way to the Braves. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reported two players, since reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer to be pitchers Andrew McKirahan and Carlos Portuondo, will go to the Reds in the trade.

The Braves signed Sean Rodriguez this offseason to help fill a void at second base. But after a left shoulder injury suffered in a recent car accident he is expected to miss 3-5 months, which explains Atlanta’s renewed engagement in trade talks to acquire Phillips.

Phillips is due to make $14 million this year, in the final year of his contract, and the Reds are expected to cover most of that salary to facilitate the trade. Over the last 11 seasons with the Reds, he has reached double-digit home runs and stolen bases nine times while hitting at least .275 eight times in that span.

The Braves have ben fairly aggressive this offseason, as they move into a new stadium, adding Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey in free agency as well as trading for Jamie Garcia to bolster their starting rotation. Phillips is a similar short-window move, and he’s a nice stop-gap at second base with the expectation top prospect Ozzie Albies will be ready to take over next year.