Eye Rays Player Impeller Britt Phillips To be appointed yesterday get defensive player Jose Seri From the Astros, and while the team usually has a week to trade a player that follows the DFA, that’s not the case as the 6 PM ET deadline approaches. Phillips is likely to change today, as he is already attracting interest from several clubs. Alex Speer of The Boston Globe Tweets That the Red Sox has arrived at the Rays, while Alex Coffey from the Philadelphia Inquirer Tweets That Velez has also shown interest as they are looking to add some defense in the center. Brendan Coty from NJ.com Add Yankees as another interested club.
It’s been a bleak season for Phillips, who clocked 0.147/.225/.250 through 208 board appearances, spreading a whopping 40.9%. He’s never been one to offer much with the bat, but this year’s struggles still represent a clear departure from last year’s .206/.300/.427 takeout and the .201/.291/.381 career Phillips endured in the season.
For all of Phillips’ struggles with the bat, he has long been one of the game’s main defenders. Not only is he capable of playing all three outside positions, but he’s an extra defender across the board, as evidenced by his career marks of 38 defensive points, 31 above average and an eventual 25.3 point rating in just 2,100 rounds of action in stadium in his career. The left-handed Phillips also showed a lot of pop and was an excellent starting stealer before the season. In 675 previous board appearances, he had featured 23 Reptile owners and went 29-for-34 in loot base attempts.
Phillips is earning $1.4 million this season and can be controlled for another two years by judging, although this year’s struggles on the scene make him a clear underdog candidate. However, as a reserve player with strength, speed and elite gauntlet, he could provide a lot of value to a competitor off the bench in the final two months of the season. He has run out of small league options, so he’ll need to stay on the list of any club potentially acquiring it.
Conjecturally, there are plenty of other potential spells even outside of the three teams reported to have inquired. Both the Marlins and the Astros have been known to research potential center field upgrades, and Phillips is of course a former Astros ranch worker. The Twins’ Outfield is out of their recognition right now, and Phillips will give them a temporary, low-cost hiatus with an elite defense to help prop things up. Blue Jays can see Phillips as a more attractive version of the same skill set as the current 4th player Bradley Zimmer offers.
Despite the lack of offensive value, defense, pace and previous energy production could land Phillips well with another team at some point today.
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