While nobody was watching, Reds’ Brandon Phillips blocked a trade to Braves

While nobody was looking, Reds’ Brandon Phillips blocked a trade to the Atlanta Braves in November.

Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips must really enjoy living in Cincinnati. That, or he really didn’t want to play for the rebuilding Atlanta Braves.

It was either one or the two, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports revealed that Phillips nixed a trade that would have sent him down south. How was Phillips, a three-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove Award winner, able to veto the trade?

Through his no-trade clause in his contract, a provision that many MLB stars seem to have in their right pocket these days.

if Phillips wanted to stay in Cincinnati, the Reds sure don’t want him to be there, given that they were in serious talks with the Braves and were on the verge of pulling the trigger. The Reds have every reason to do this deal as Phillips will be owed $14 million this upcoming season and the Reds are looking to get younger and rebuild their roster.

But Phillips didn’t want any part of the rebuilding Braves, so he invoked his no-trade clause and vetoed the trade.

This is the second straight offseason that Phillips vetoed a trade. Last offseason, the Reds struck a three-team deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals that would have sent Phillips to Phoenix. But Phillips, who is on the otherside of his prime, wanted a contract extension from the Diamondbacks that Arizona wasn’t interested in providing.

This time around, Phillips didn’t want an extention from the Braves, who, like the Diamondbacks, would had turned his request down if he asked for one since Atlanta is also in the process of rebuilding.

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it seems like Phillips doesn’t want to leave Cincinnati, but the Reds want him to, which puts everyone in kind of an awkward position moving into the 2017 season. Only time will tell if the Reds and Phillips will find a trade that will be suitable for all those involved.