Major League Baseball

Atlanta Braves Close to Acquiring 2B Brandon Phillips

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:14 a.m. ET

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Fansided, Alan Carpenter/FanSided via Tomahawk Take

Jul 6, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Sean Rodriguez (3) celebrates after hitting a one run single off of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Matt Bowman (not pictured) during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

In a surprising development tonight, the Atlanta Braves are said to be close to consummating a deal that has medical implications wrapped all over it.

Throughout this nearly-completed off-season, the Atlanta Braves have found themselves in the midst of a number of rumors attaching them to virtually any available player that could be considered a second base upgrade.

Tonight:  that search may be over, but for reasons not all together pleasant.

Frankly, I’m not certain who sleeps less:  Braves General Manager John Coppolella or FOX Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal.  That aside, there’s a reason why this deal is coming together now.

But wait… two minutes later there was an update:

Let’s take a look at the full story here.  It was almost 2 weeks ago that Sean Rodriguez and his family were involved in a serious car accident – one that took the life of the perpetrator who stole the Miami police vehicle involved.

At the time, it was believed the Sean had escaped serious injury, but that news appears to have been inaccurate as the following days have lead Rodriguez to get checked more fully.

This is obviously a major blow to the Braves – who must have been looking at Rodriguez to be their starting second baseman with Jace Peterson moving to a full time utility role.

Rodriguez might also have shared time with Adonis Garcia at third base, but that is clearly off the table now.

Also: rather than pursue Phillips, Atlanta could have considered promoting Ozzie Albies to take the spot being vacated in the wake of Rodriguez’ injury, but an acquisition of Phillips suggests strongly that this move isn’t likely to be in the cards any time soon.

Phillips to Atlanta, Part 2?

In early January, ESPN and others reported that the Braves and Reds have put together a deal to bring Brandon Phillips back home to Atlanta (he spent his High School years in Stone Mountain) back in November.

However, at that time Phillips invoked his rights under the “10 and 5” rule (10 years in the league; 5 years with the same club) to veto that deal.  The clubs did not opt to revisit that deal at the time, but as noted, the Braves continued to be linked to other second basemen around the league.

Many of these rumors were speculative in nature, but the preponderance and persistence of the reports did seem odd.

So what’s different this time?  Has Phillips been asked?

Apparently so…

What is that deal, anyway?

2017 is the last year of Phillips’ contract, which was one of 3 long-term deals that have dogged the Reds for some time (along with those of Homer Bailey (3 more seasons) and Joey Votto (6 more)).

This was a 6 year, $72 million pact that will still pay him $14 million in 2017.  But does that mean the Braves will be saddled with that payout?  Details are not yet available, but the speculation is out there:

“They” in this case would be the Reds.  This also brings us to the other part of the program:  what – or perhaps who – will the Braves be giving up.

Ken Rosenthal confirms:

The answer is (again) unknown at this hour, but this deal will need to balance out four considerations:

Two other things we’re also told from Cincy beat writers tonight – who don’t sleep, either, but also have the advantage of being in a Western time zone while waiting for the Reds to appear in Arizona next week:

Here’s some fan speculation on who the Braves could be sending in return:

Any of these names would make sense depending on the money involved… it comes down to whoever the Reds might wish to “buy” and/or how much the Braves want to give to reduce their cost for Phillips.

How Close Is This Really?

First thought:  if the Braves and Reds had a deal in place back in November, then it probably is coming together fairly quickly.

Second thought:  it’s not over until it’s over.

Hurdles?  Like what?

Rosenthal then noted this injury as “not considered major” (and hasn’t amended that thought since).  Given that it happened in September, that would likely allay most concerns about it by now.

Otherwise there’s the usual trade ‘hurdles’:

Outlook

More from Tomahawk Take

But with all that taken into consideration, it appears at this ridiculous hour that Brandon Phillips might open the season as the starting second baseman for the Atlanta Braves as SunTrust Park debuts.

What happens from here depends on a number of factors:

All options would on the table, from the release of Phillips when Albies is ready or keeping him through the year.

Best case scenario?  Phillips plays well, Albies plays well, and Atlanta flips Phillips for a solid prospect to make space for Albies by mid-year.

But that’s getting a bit ahead of ourselves now, isn’t it?

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