*Photo from the Baltimore Sun*
Continuing to search for depth to aid Trout and Ohtani, here comes a low risk flier. The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a one year, $1.2 million deal with OF Brett Phillips, which has been confirmed by the club.
Phillips is regarded as a great clubhouse presence and can also bring strong defense to the Angels, becoming the latest signing in what has been a busy offseason for the Angels. The Angels will be his 5th big league team in his career.
Angels GM Perry Minasian said of Phillips that "We think he can play, he’s a really impactful defender who can play all three outfield positions and can really throw. And I think with the new rule changes, baserunning will be more important. He can run the bases and steal bases and win you games there. And then offensively, he’s done a lot this offseason to work on things and we think he’s going to drastically improve."
Last season was spent with the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles for Phillips. He struggled offensively, posting a .144 batting average, .217 on base percentage, and .466 OPS, adding 5 home runs and 15 RBI's in 83 games of action, only 8 of which were with the Orioles.
Phillips has never been particularly strong with the bat, but visited private hitting coach and former teammate Trent Woodward to help him with his swing. He has been working with Woodward all offseason, and the Angels were the only team to offer him a major league contract out of the teams interested in him.
Phillips commented on his work with Woodward, saying that "Everybody sees the statistics from last year and thinks, 'Maybe Brett Phillips is undeserving of a Major League contract,' and at times, I believed that. But with a lot of hard work this offseason with Trent Woodward, who is Taylor Ward’s guy, a lot of swing revamp went on. The Angels saw something they believed could help them win baseball games, and I firmly believe that myself."
So far, Phillips has 6 big league seasons under his belt. He has a .188 batting average and .620 OPS, hitting 28 home runs with 93 RBI's and 36 stolen bases in 354 games played. In the playoffs, he has one RBI and one hit in 3 plate appearances, but it was a pretty timely RBI.
The addition of Phillips makes him the latest in a long line of acquisitions for the Angels. They've brought in Gio Urshela, Hunter Renfroe, and Brandon Drury on the lineup side, with Tyler Anderson and Carlos Estevez coming in on the pitching staff.
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