ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the deal says the Los Angeles Angels have one in place to acquire infielder Brandon Phillips from the Atlanta Braves.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the trade hadn't been finalized and approved.
The Angels (69-65) aggressively swung their second trade of the day to add veteran hitters for their playoff push. A few hours earlier, they acquired four-time All-Star outfielder Justin Upton from Detroit.
The Angels are 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot despite several major injuries to their pitching staff and one of the AL's least prolific lineups. Los Angeles trails Minnesota (70-63) in the race for the second AL wild card spot, and the Yankees (71-62) are just 2 1/2 games ahead.
Phillips is likely to play second base for the Angels, who are struggling at the position. The three-time All-Star is a four-time Gold Glove winner joining a solid defensive team.
Phillips was in his first season with Atlanta, which acquired him in the offseason after 11 productive years in Cincinnati. He has been solid for the Braves, batting .291 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs.
The Braves, who used Phillips at third base in August, get minor-league catcher Tony Sanchez from Los Angeles. Cincinnati already is paying most of Phillips' $14 million salary for this season, making the deal very low-risk for the Angels.
Just as Upton should address the Angels' years of problems in left field, Phillips is arriving to fill the team's other perennially problematic position.
Danny Espinosa began the season as the Angels' starting second baseman, but the Orange County native hit just .162 before being released in July. Nick Franklin, Kaleb Cowart and utilityman Cliff Pennington have all filled in with minimal effectiveness.
The Angels' second basemen have a combined .589 OPS this season. Phillips' OPS is .752, and he has dipped under .700 in only one season since 2004.
