Red Sox Call Up Brandon Phillips

The Red Sox called up veteran infielder Brandon Phillips from Pawtucket today. A four time Gold Glove winner and three time all-star, Phillips is making his first trip back to the big leagues since time spent with the Angels and Braves last year. He is a career .275 hitter with 210 home runs and 949 RBI in 16 big league seasons.

He has posted a slashline of .302/.348/.477 with four home runs and 19 RBI’s with Pawtucket in 38 games, and remains an outstanding defensive player at 2nd. Although it isn’t likely he will gain a starting role with the big league club, he adds some additional infield depth as well as a veteran presence on a decently young roster.
Credit: David Jablonski/Dayton Daily News


Phillips has played 2nd for his entire career, but did play 25 games at 3rd with Atlanta in 2017. Second base has been one of the biggest weaknesses for Boston all year, though Ian Kinsler has been hitting well since his trade deadline acquisition. Eduardo Nunez will also likely get more starts at second in the near future, as Rafael Devers looks poised to at least take back a share of the starting third basemen role.

The likelihood of Phillips remaining on the roster come playoff time is rather slim, but if he really excels in the couple of appearances he is likely to get, maybe he can sneak his way in. It is more likely that Phillips gives the Sox some needed depth and the opportunity to rest a couple playoff ready players come late September.

Phillips is coming to the end of a very successful career, but maybe he still has a couple of special moments left for Boston.