Its a swap of 2 once-heralded young skills whose respective stocks have dipped over the last few years. Phillips, 26, went from the Astros to the Brewers alongside Josh Hader in the well known Mike Fiers/Carlos Gomez deal. At the time, he was a leading 50 prospect who was considered a prospective five-tool super star, but in the years given that, his contact concerns have continued to limit his worth. Phillips went from Milwaukee to Kansas City in the initial Mike Moustakas trade, and hes considering that settled in as an absolutely rocket-armed, plus defensive outfielder with power however major swing-and-miss problems at the plate.
Its fun to believe about what an outfield of Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot and Phillips could do from a protective viewpoint, but its tough to ignore the reality that in 358 MLB plate looks, Phillips is a. 205/.282/.344 hitter with an enormous 35.2 percent strikeout rate. His fondness for “did-he-just-do-that,” highlight-reel assists from any of the three outfield spots make him one of the video games more entertaining protectors, however the Rays have some work to do if they are to coax anything out of Phillips from an offending perspective. Phillips is controllable through 2024, however hes already out of minors alternatives, so the Rays have to keep him on the major league lineup.
The Rays have gotten outfielder Brett Phillips from the Royals in exchange for small league infielder Lucius Fox, the groups announced. Both players are on the 40-man lineup, so corresponding 40-man relocations arent required.
The 23-year-old Fox, on the other hand, is a switch-hitting Bahamian shortstop who signed a hefty $6MM reward with the Giants back in 2015. That deal came near the peak of aggressive costs on global beginners that preceded the hard-capped reward swimming pools which are now in place under the 2016-21 CBA. He was seen at the time as an athletic, high-contact middle infielder or center fielder with speed and the potential to become a bit more power than he had, however Fox hasnt established at the plate as hoped.
Its fun to think about what an outfield of Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot and Phillips might do from a protective viewpoint, but its tough to overlook the truth that in 358 MLB plate looks, Phillips is a. 205/.282/.344 player with a huge 35.2 percent strikeout rate. His penchant for “did-he-just-do-that,” highlight-reel helps from any of the three outfield spots make him one of the games more entertaining defenders, however the Rays have some work to do if they are to coax anything out of Phillips from an offending perspective. Phillips is manageable through 2024, however hes currently out of minor league choices, so the Rays have to keep him on the big league roster.
He lasted just one season with the Giants prior to being traded to the Rays as part of their return for Matt Moore, and there was some controversy when it was discovered post-trade that Fox had actually been playing through a foot injury which was not divulged to the Rays. Fox eventually settled in as a mid-range possibility in a deep Rays system, however his stock has continued to dip as hes published pedestrian minor league numbers. He invested most of the 2019 season in Double-A, where he hit.230/.340/.342 with three homers and 37 takes. The speed is definitely a highly appealing characteristic to a Royals club that tends to stockpile stolen-base dangers, but Foxs general offensive game has yet to come together.
