Atlanta Braves Add Pizzazz Acquire Brandon Phillips

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Sep 26, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Sean Rodriguez (3) singles against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Injury Forces Atlanta Braves to change their plans

Last November the Braves signed super utility man Sean Rodriguez after Phillips blocked a deal with Cincinnati to come to Atlanta. Phillips said afterwards that the Reds hadn’t consulted with him ahead of time and we heard this morning from Zach Buchanan that the two contract changes the Braves allowed this time were sticking points in November.

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Rodriguez had a breakout year in Pittsburgh and earned a two-year deal with the Braves as a result of Phillips blocking the trade. The January 28th accident sent Rodriguez family to the hospital but at the time it was thought he escaped with only minor injuries.

Since that time however shoulder discomfort led to further medical examinations and Rosenthal tweets that he will probably miss the entire season.

Reds Restructuring

The Reds tried unsuccessfully to move Phillips on more than one occasion – last season alone he blocked trades to Arizona and the Nationals – in order to get playing time for Jose Peraza. Now that Dilson Herrera is ready to step up the need to clear the middle infield log jam became more urgent.

This led the Reds to virtually give Phillips to Atlanta. It’s likely that’s the only way the Braves could have done the deal as they are bumping against a $120M payroll with no realistic way to clear any salary.

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