Brandon Phillips on return to Atlanta: 'Wanted it to happen a long time ago'
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The wait was nearly 18 years long, and as Brandon Phillips discussed the feelings of putting on an Atlanta Braves uniform for the first time, he couldn't help but smile.
"Finally going to be getting my chop on," the Stone Mountain, Ga., native said.
To be fair, Phillips rarely stopped grinning as he reported to spring training Friday. It was visible while the second baseman took batting practice, fielded grounders and talked with his new double-play partner, shortstop Dansby Swanson.
"When you're happy, you smile, and I smile all the time," the 35-year-old said. "I'm just very happy to be here."
Atlanta was no doubt happy to have landed the three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, a deal coming together roughly 24 hours after learning Sean Rodriguez -- who was expected to see time at second -- would need rotator cuff surgery.
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General manager John Coppolella was coming back from lunch last Friday when he has been called by director of player health and performance Andrew Hauser, along with president of baseball operations John Hart and head trainer Jeff Porter.
"When Andrew called me and said he was on with John Hart and Jeff Porter, I said, 'This isn't gonna be good,'" Coppolella said. "And then he said, 'Sean got a MRI that shows (he) needs surgery and it's gonna be a lot longer than what we had thought.'"
Luckily, Atlanta had already laid the groundwork with Cincinnati back in November. That deal fell through, with talks coming around the same time the Braves courted Rodriguez, who would sign a two-year, $11.5 million contract on Nov. 24.
When Atlanta came calling again last weekend, Phillips -- who had rejected multiple deals in the past two seasons -- paved the way for his return home.
"We were fortunate that we had gotten so far down the road with the Reds and Brandon Phillips that we knew there was a deal there," Coppolella said. "We knew they were trying to build for the future. We knew he was a player that we liked and we were able to get that deal done."
Not only would the Braves send 27-year-old left-handed pitcher Andrew McKirahan -- whose tenure with Atlanta included an 80-game PED suspension and 5.93 ERA in 27 games -- and righty Carlos Portuondo, 27 (who has never reached the majors) for Phillips, but Cincinnati agreed to pay $13 of the $14 million he's due in 2017.
But even as the pieces began to fall into place over the weekend, Phillips admits he didn't want to get too excited about a potential return to Atlanta.
"I didn't want to get my hopes up and then next thing you know I'm back in the trail and in Cincinnati with my head down a little bit," he said. "But when it happened, I was jumping for joy. It was one of those moments like when I signed my first check or something like that."
The move gives the Braves a career .274/.320/.421 hitter, who last year slugged .291/.320/.416 with 34 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 64 RBI. In the franchise's history, just five times had a second baseman produced a season with a .291 or better average and 11 or more homers.
While his defensive figures, which include minus-7 runs saved and a UZR/150 of minus-2.3, were his lowest in each department since 2006, since '14 only six second baseman have saved more runs than Phillips.
Phillips figures to hit fifth or sixth in Atlanta's lineup, following Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp or hitting a spot back from that behind Nick Markakis.
"He's still a really good player," said manager Brian Snitker said. "He's still one of those guys I hated to see come up. He's dangerous and the guy, for me, always just marveled at how easy he played the game. … He just further legitimizes our lineup and lengthens it."
Defensively, despite the step back that last season's stats may indicate, he figures to be an upgrade with Braves second basemen posting a minus-0.7 WAR since 2014.
He should also have a substantial impact on Swanson as he heads into his first full season in the majors.
"We're going to have a lot of fun," Phillips said. "We're going to make a lot of nice plays, a lot of web gems coming to a theater near you in Atlanta. I've seen him, he's got a nice little swing. I saw him last year. He's going to be good for a long time. Hopefully I can help him out a little bit and work together."
The Braves, of course, have a second baseman of their own in the waiting in prospect Ozzie Albies. Coppolella was clear that when Albies -- who is returning from a fractured elbow and is currently going through a rehab program -- is ready, "nobody is going to block (him)."
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However long that takes, the Braves have only added to the optimism that's permeated camp after last season's strong finish -- which included winning 20 of the last 30 games -- and complimenting their retooling by adding veteran arms Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey.
On the topic of Colon and Dickey, there are some threads of irony with Phillips now sharing a roster with the two.
Fifteen years ago, the Expos traded Phillips to the Indians for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens for Tim Drew ... and Colon. Six years before that, had Phillips served as a batboy for the 1996 Olympics, and the United States team that included Dickey.
"It's crazy just being on a team with a guy I got traded for, Colon, and I was R.A. Dickey's bat boy," Phillips said.
After 11 seasons in Cincinnati, a whirlwind of a week has seen Phillips rush to get his things from Arizona, where the Reds train, and find a place to live in Florida. Normally active on Twitter, he hasn't posted anything since a couple of tweets immediately after the news of the trade broke -- including writing "#ATLien" -- and his has yet to change a bio that says he's "Starting 2nd Baseman For The Cincinnati Reds."
He says he'll get to all that, soon enough. In the meantime, Phillips seems content enough to simply smile about his new beginning.
"I wanted it to happen a long time ago, but things happened from different sides," he said. "I never thought it was going to happen, but then I told my agent, 'Hey, man, you've got to make this happen.' ... I miss Cincinnati. That's always home, but Atlanta's my home, home."
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His books, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners.' are now available.
