My Two Cents: Brett Phillips Did His Job, Made Baseball Fun Again
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Everything you need to know about Brett Phillips can be summed up in what went on for an hour in the Tampa Bay Rays' locker room on Saturday morning.
The Rays had lost six of seven games and their grip on a playoff spot was slipping away. A lot of things were going wrong — injuries, slumps, demotions — and tenseness and stress was starting to take over for a team on the skids. It was obvious in a somber locker room after a Friday night loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
But on Saturday morning, laughter and joking and frivolity had returned to the Rays' locker room — and it was much needed. The promotion that day was a Brett Phillips basketball jersey — an idea that stemmed from 5-year-old Brett Phillips rocking a ''Devil Rays'' tank top back in the day — and almost all of his teammates were wearing the jerseys, and even warmed up in them out of the field.
There was a lot of joking about who would make up a Rays basketball team. Taylor Walls, who was a point guard in high school in Georgia, was claiming that spot, and said he was actually pretty good.
Rays pitcher Shane McClanahan, who can be as sarcastic as anyone in a fun way, said he ''highly doubted that Wallsy was any good.'' A few others concurred, and when Walls heard that, he proudly defended himself between a whole bunch of laughs.
They joked about how the Rays had a lot of tall guys — but ''no tall guys who were actually athletes'' — although Ryan Thompson begged to differ. "I was a two-guard in high school before I grew five inches. I could shoot it,'' he said.
But an athlete? "Yeah, well, probably not.''
Phillips thoroughly enjoyed all the banter. He never played basketball himself in high school, but thought the promotion idea was cute. He had a hard time believing that he was so popular, and that the Rays thought its fan base would enjoy it so much.
The suddenly fun-loving Rays went out and played loose, and actually won the game. Brett Phillips, who started in center field on his big day, even had an RBI single in the eighth inning after starting the day 0-for-3.
That was an ABSOLUTE correlation between that pregame jocularity and how the game went. It was a great, great Saturday for Rays Nation.
Baseball was fun again.
Brett Phillips made it that way.
And then came Monday ...
Brett Phillips always has a smile on his face, and his ''Baseball is Fun'' logo is more a way of life than a brand name.
But Monday couldn't have been fun. Phillips, the Seminole native who's been struggled at the plate all year, was designated for assignment by the Rays, just two days after the big promotion. Those thousands of fans sporting those jerseys of the local hero all weekend? Now they represent FORMER Rays outfielder Brett Phillips.
The move was made to make room for Jose Siri, a speedy center fielder who came over from Houston in a trade for a couple of minor-league pitchers.
There are no words to accurately describe the move, but there are numbers.
The 28-year-old who's in his sixth major-league season is hitting .147 this year, the lowest batting average in baseball for anyone with more than 150 at-bats. (Phillips is 27-for-184 this season.)
Phillips has struck out 85 times in those 184 at bats, and his 46.2 strikeout percentage is also the worst in baseball. He is also 0-for-33 versus left-handed pitchers, which is — you guessed it — at the bottom of the stats list, too.
Through it all, he was a solid defensive player and baserunner, but in the end, it wasn't enough to keep him around. The Rays needed to be better in center field, especially with veteran Kevin Kiermaier lost for the season and rookie Josh Lowe still not quite ready for prime time.
Even if it was time for Phillips to go, it still doesn't make it any easier. He took it all with grace, of course, and even posted a 38-second video thanking Rays fans for all the support.
Nothing but love @RaysBaseball https://t.co/yi3Riyoj0S pic.twitter.com/d17NexwkIw
— Maverick Phillips (@Brett_Phillips8) August 1, 2022
And what comes next for Brett Phillips?
By being designated for assignment, Phillips basically becomes a free agent, and any team can come in and scoop him up now. Within seven days of the transaction, the player can either be traded or placed on irrevocable outright waivers, according to MLB guidelines.
If the player clears waivers, he may be sent outright to the minor leagues or released. Players with more than three years of major-league service time or who have been previously outrighted may reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency. Phillips qualifies there.
It won't be surprising to see a contending team pick him up — especially after rosters are expanded in September. As a defensive replacement and base runner, he certainly has a lot of value in those areas.
And if this is it with his hometown team for Brett Phillips, it's been quite a run. After time with Milwaukee and Kansas City to start his career, he came to the Rays in late August of 2020 in a trade for Lucius Fox, an infielder who now plays for the Washington Nationals.'
He debuted in September and helped the Rays throughout the postseason. He made a memory forever when his base hit won Game 4 of the 2020 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It came with two outs in the ninth inning and the Rays trailing by a run, the first two-run game-winner to walk off a World Series game since Kirk Gibson in 1988.
He's always had a flare for the dramatic. He hit three grand slams in less than three weeks in 2021, and also had an inside-the-park homer during that stretch. Only one other MLB player had ever done that — the great Babe Ruth.
He did the same thing this year, pitching a couple of times and even making some dramatic highlights.
Nothing was better than his night during the first week of the season. Chloe Grimes, an adorable 8-year-old girl in the middle of a cancer fight, got to throw out the first pitch at a Rays game. Brett Phillips is her favorite player, and they exchanged stories — and gifts — before the game.
During the game, while Grimes and her mother were being interviewed live by Tricia Whitaker on the Bally Sports Sun game broadcast, Phillips hit a home run.
There was not a dry eye anywhere around the place that night, and Phillips got choked up talking about it after the game. It brought him a ton of national attention
Baseball is fun and sometimes also magical 😍🥰
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 13, 2022
Don't miss this special interview with 8 year old softball player, Chloe Grimes, who's currently in her 2nd battle with cancer. pic.twitter.com/xvPWdip30R
Brett Phillips made baseball fun this year, no doubt about it. He always stopped for a hello and a fist bump and appreciated getting extra copies of our Sports Illustrated cover a few months back.
Even through all of his struggles, he remained positive and continued to work hard to get out of his slump. He reveled in all the good things that happened with his teammates and he was a terrific clubhouse presence.
His release has been tough on the Rays' fan base. For a lot of people, he is the face of the Rays, statistics be damned.
But even Phillips said Monday that ''it sucks, but we all know business is business.''
Yep, there's no doubt that business is business. From a 100 percent pure baseball move, adding Jose Siri from Houston in a trade in favor of Phillips is probably a good thing. That's why they did it, but it didn't make it any easier on the front office, who fully understands Phillips' value as a fan favorite.
It's a sad day for sure, and it's going to be strange to walk into the Rays' locker room on Tuesday afternoon and see his locker empty.
It's been a pure joy being around Brett Phillips. He made his mark here during his two years, and that will never go away.
The local hero? He played the role perfectly.
Thanks for the memories, Maverick.
Related stories on Brett Phillips
- TOM BREW TAKEOUT: Tampa Bay's Brett Phillips, a man of faith, has an amazing week to remember. Tampa Bay Rays outfielder and occasional emergency pitcher had a week so memorable that he went viral on social media three days in a row for three dramatically different things. For those who know the local hero best, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. CLICK HERE
- SPORTS ILLUSTRATED DAILY COVER STORY: Brett Phillips is MLB's master of fun, and the Rays outfielder is on a mission to make sure we don’t lose sight of what makes this game great. CLICK HERE
- SLUMP BUSTERS: Tampa Bay outfielder Brett Phillips has been struggling for nearly a month now, with just two hits in 32 at-bats and a lot of strikeouts. But he and his team of coaches have been working hard on a swing change, and it paid off with three hits on Monday night against the Detroit Tigers. CLICK HERE
- PHILLIPS DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT: Popular Tampa Bay outfielder Brett Phillips was designated for assignment on Monday after the Rays traded for Houston center fielder Jose Siri. Minor-league pitchers Seth Johnson and Jayden Murray were traded for Siri, who's one of the top defensive players in the game. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.