Cincinnati Reds Roster News and Rumors: Brandon Phillips Expected to Start as Second Baseman
Brandon Phillips looks to become a Cincinnati Red for life, or at least that is what seems to be happening right now. After vetoing two prospective trades in this offseason, which would have sent him to the Washington Nationals or the Arizona Diamondbacks, he ultimately will end up as the Reds' second baseman for the upcoming season.
Phillips actually doesn't really care about being somewhere else since the business of baseball is all about money. The reason why he vetoed those trades is because he wanted more money. Thanks to the fact that he has been playing in the league for 10 years now, he had the right to veto based on the 10-and-5 rights.
For Reds manager Bryan Price, the 34-year-old veteran is the best man to take second base. "Brandon for me is a second baseman of tremendous value and talent, it's hard to just assign someone else that job," he said.
Before the trade offers, Phillips already knew that someone younger was ready to take his spot as second base. The 21-year-old Jose Peraza will most likely grab that spot once the former Cleveland Indian decides to play his trade somewhere else at the end of this $27-million, two-year contract with the Reds.
The young Peraza played his first big league game with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He then found himself as a shortstop in the Atlanta Braves, before moving to second base since the team at that point wanted to commit to Andrelton Simmons at the shortstop position. Ironically, both Johnson and Peraza would later be traded.
Peraza is currently a highly ranked second base prospect, while his numbers at bat are not bad as well, hitting .293/.316/.378 overall during his Triple A stint last year.
After failing to get Phillips, Arizona decided to trade for Jean Segura instead — a shortstop who played for the Milwaukee Brewers last season.
