Zach Buchanan

zbuchanan@enquirer.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Former Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips met with the media Saturday in Florida for the first time since being traded to the Atlanta Braves, and again repeated the claim that he’d been kept in the dark about previous trade talks between the two teams.

A previous deal to send Phillips to his hometown Braves fell apart in November when the second baseman invoked his no-trade rights. Talks were resuscitated after Braves infielder Sean Rodriguez required shoulder surgery after a car accident earlier this month.

The way Phillips tells it, he was just as surprised as anyone else to learn he was the subject of trade talks last fall.

"I didn't say no to [the] trade," Phillips told reporters. "I didn't really know what was going on. When I heard about it, I was like, 'For real, why didn't you guys make that happen?' That's why I didn't want to say anything or to call anybody out. I never said I didn't want to play for the Atlanta Braves.”

Brandon Phillips thanks Reds, fans on Instagram

Several people with the Reds have disputed his account, mostly off the record to avoid a war of words between team personnel and one of the franchise’s most beloved players. But on Sunday, Reds manager Bryan Price attempted to gently correct the record.

Price and Phillips spoke over the phone in November when the initial trade talks were heating up. They discussed the trade on the table, and what the playing time picture would look like if Phillips nixed the Atlanta deal. With Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera in the fold, Price could make Phillips no guarantees.

“I wanted him to understand that this is appealing to him, the idea of playing closer to home, what the alternative was if he stays,” Price said. “I never had any pressure from our front office on who to play last year. I felt like I owed it to Brandon to explain to him that I would have to listen to the front office if Brandon was with us and we still had Peraza and Dilson here, that I would have to consider the idea of playing them.”