One of the most intriguing moves made by the New York Yankees around the trade deadline will have no bearing on their postseason prospects or performance in October.
On July 30, two days after acquiring Jazz Chisholm from the Miami Marlins, the Yankees signed Brett Phillips, a 30-year-old former outfielder attempting to make the majors as a pitcher, to a minor-league contract. He has been assigned to Single-A Tampa.
RESTORING GLORY
Phillips, a former top prospect outfielder, had the defensive skills to succeed in the game but lacked the bat, producing a.187 average, 71 OPS+, 31 home runs, and 39 steals across seven seasons (971 plate appearances). He played for five teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays for a portion of three seasons. He last played for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, recording 11 hits in 71 plate appearances.
After getting discharged by the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A squad in May, Phillips realized he wanted to make a change. He enjoys the game and is prepared to put in the effort.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself; I want to be realistic about it,” Phillips recently told the Tampa Bay Times. “But I also believe that I can do it. I’m serious about this. If I wasn’t serious about it, I wouldn’t be doing anything correctly.”
Phillips, a right-handed thrower, reached 97 mph in the National Baseball Congress competition on July 29 and signed with the Yankees the next day.
“I’ve been doing this for the past three months, trying to build up,” Phillips told The New York Post. “On Monday, I pitched my first game as a pitcher. I didn’t expect everything to come together so quickly.
The personable Phillips has 5 1/3 innings of major-league pitching experience, the majority of which came with slow deliveries in blowout games.
Nonetheless, the fact that he can throw his fastball in the high 90s has impressed the Yankees’ ace.
“For someone to throw 97, that’s real,” Gerrit Cole told the Post. “What a talented athlete. I am really fascinated, especially considering we signed him. It’s not as if he’s unfamiliar with the game. He was a fairly excellent player. He’s not just blasting 97 out of nowhere. He had a good career as an outfielder. “I had no idea his arm was that good.”
