I wish someone would slap me in the face with $72 million.
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, is by all accounts, one of the top players in the MLB. He has performed at a high level ever since he arrived in Cincinnati in 2006, so you could understand his bitterness when the team decided to give first baseman Joey Votto an incredibly generous and well deserved $225 million extension before taking care of him.
According to a story via Mike Oz of Yahoo! Sports, Phillips told Cincinnati magazine, that the contract he eventually got got from the Reds was a slap in the face and that the whole situation still hurts him.
“I just feel like they didn’t have to sign Joey (Votto) to that contract (10-year, $225-million extension). He still had two more years on his. And for (the front office) to go out there and sign him before they sign me, and they knew I was going to be a free agent?” Phillips shakes his head. “I understand Joey’s a good player. He’s one of the best players in this game. But I feel like I am too. I told them that this is where I wanted to be. I begged them. I told everybody I want to finish my career here. And then they give someone a contract who didn’t ask for nothing?”
“To this day, I’m still hurt. Well, I don’t wanna say hurt. I’ll say scarred. I’m still scarred. It just sucks that it happened,” he says. “For (Castellini) to sign somebody for $200 million, there must be a new vegetable or fruit coming out that we don’t know about. For him to do something like that and tell me they didn’t have any more money, that’s a lie. But what can I do? I just feel like it was a slap in my face … But how can someone slap you in the face with all that money. It’s a nice slap in the face.”
If Phillips didn’t like the amount he was being offered, he should’ve taken his talents elsewhere, it’s that simple. I’m pretty sure one of the other 29 teams would’ve gladly overpaid him.