CHICAGO _ The Braves traded veteran second baseman Brandon Phillips to the Angels on Thursday for journeyman minor league catcher Tony Sanchez.
Phillips, 36, has a partial no-trade clause that included 12 teams, one of which was the Angels. The three-time former All-Star had to approve any trade to any team on the list, and he did just before the midnight deadline for teams to acquire players who can be eligible for postseason rosters.
Sanchez, 29, hit .272 with four homers and a .729 OPS in 70 games this season at Triple-A Salt Lake, in his ninth minor league season.
He's hit .259 with four homers and a .681 OPS in 155 plate appearances in 51 major league games over parts of three seasons, most recently with Pittsburgh in 2015.
He was scratched from the lineup shortly before the Braves' series opener against the Cubs on Thursday night in Chicago, for what a team spokesman said were "personal reasons." Rumors quickly began to swirl about a trade, since Thursday was a deadline for teams to add players if they are to be eligible for postseason rosters.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed that the Braves-Angels trade was possible. All that was holding it up, as of 8 p.m., was the approval of Phillips, who grew up in Stone Mountain outside Atlanta and has relished the opportunity to play this season in front of family and friends on a nightly basis at SunTrust Park.
He's in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent after the season, and the Braves have not approached Phillips about possibly returning for another season.
The Braves are planning to activate versatile rookie infielder Johan Camargo, former starting third baseman Adonis Garcia and utility man Danny Santana from the 10-day disabled list Monday, so they would have ample options to replace Phillips. It would provide an opportunity to get Camargo regular playing time, since the shortstop position he was playing before injuring a knee is now occupied again by a rejuvenated Dansby Swanson.
On Wednesday, Phillips got his 2,000th career hit in a win against the Phillies, becoming the 12th active major leaguer to reach that standard. He has a 14-game hitting streak and has hit .291 with 39 extra-base hits (11 homers), 52 RBIs and a .753 OPS in 120 games for the Braves, his highest OPS since he posted an .810 OPS in 2011 and won a Silver Slugger Award as the best-hitting second baseman in the National League.
The Braves acquired him in a trade just before spring training from the Reds, who agreed to pay $13 million of Phillips' $14 million salary this season. The four-time former Gold Glove second baseman moved to third base at the beginning of August after the Braves called up second-base prospect Ozzie Albies and asked Phillips if he'd agree to play third base since they intended to play Albies there on a regular basis the rest of the season.
A day later, Phillips became the starting third baseman despite never playing the position in his major league career. Phillips has not just played adequately at third base since the move, he's played exceptionally well.
However, he's refused to talk publicly about the move to third base and is believed to strongly prefer second base, where the Angels are expected to use him. They've not gotten much production from Kaleb Cowart at second base and have looked to upgrade at the position.
The Angels will only owe about $200,000, the remaining portion of the $1 million not covered by the Reds. Phillips would also receive a $500,000 relocation/assignment bonus that was negotiated into his contract when he approved the trade to the Braves from Cincinnati.
He had full trade-veto rights with the Reds as a player with at least 10 years of major league service including at least five with his current team.
