The Los Angeles Angels have been baseball’s busiest team on the waiver trade deadline day, and the American League Wild Card contenders added another player on Thursday, acquiring second baseman Brandon Phillips and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves, the teams announced.
Angels acquire Brandon Phillips from Braves
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
The trade was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The veteran infielder waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the deal, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
Phillips was originally in Atlanta’s starting lineup on Thursday, playing third base against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but was scratched as trade talks progressed.
The 36-year-old Phillips hit .291/.329/.423 with 27 doubles and 11 home runs in 120 games with the Braves, who acquired him in February after 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. Phillips is making $14 million in the final season of a six-year contract, with Cincinnati paying $13 million.
Halos second basemen in 2017 have hit a combined .196/.271/.318, 30th among 30 MLB teams at the position in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Minor league catcher Tony Sanchez, 29, heads to Atlanta for Phillips, per Bowman.
The Angels already made a big splash on Thursday, acquiring outfielder Justin Upton from the Detroit Tigers. They also let Cameron Maybin go to the Houston Astros on a waiver claim. To be eligible for the postseason, players must be acquired before midnight ET on Thursday night.
The Angels entered Thursday 1½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second Wild Card spot in the American League.
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