Royals Rumors: Brett Phillips traded to Rays in exchange for Lucius Fox
Royals rumors are underway, but not necessarily with what we were expecting, as the Kansas City Royals sent Brett Phillips to Tampa.
The first trade of the deadline has been made for the Kansas City Royals, with outfielder Brett Phillips getting shipped off to Tampa Bay in exchange for infielder Lucius Fox.
This wasn’t exactly a trade fans were expecting, but it appears to be a decent trade on paper though it’s obviously too early to tell.
News of the trade dropped on Thursday afternoon.
The Royals announced they have traded OF Brett Phillips to the Tampa Bay Rays for IF Lucius Fox.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) August 27, 2020
What can we expect from the first trade of Royals rumors season?
Brett Phillips never really got much of a chance to shine in Kansas City. He was acquired in a trade with the Brewers two years ago when the Royals sent Mike Moustakas to Milwaukee. That trade brought in Phillips and Jorge Lopez, who is now in Baltimore, so clearly it didn’t work out well for the Royals.
Phillips was lost amongst the outfielders on the Royals roster, so this trade makes sense for Kansas City. Their outfield of Alex Gordon, Whit Merrifield, and Hunter Dozier is a stable one for the duration of this year and the team still has promising prospects Nick Heath, Kyle Isbel, and Khalil Lee in their farm system for the future seasons.
As for Lucius Fox, he’s a 23-year-old speedy shortstop from the Bahamas who hit .221/.331/.327 with three home runs and 34 RBI in 480 plate appearances. His 39 stolen bases between two minor league teams is what likely appealed to the Royals, as that’s the kind of player this team covets.
This was a surprising move for the Royals, but at the same time, Brett Phillips wasn’t getting much playing time and his time in Kansas City was nearing the end anyway. He was a good defender, but the Royals had too many outfielders and Phillips wasn’t going to be in the team’s long-term plans, so this makes sense.
It’ll be interesting to see what Fox can provide for the Kansas City Royals moving forward. This is a team with a lot of promising shortstops in their minor league system, which is telling considering how badly Adalberto Mondesi is struggling this year.
What do you think of this trade, Royals fans?