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Washington Nationals Rumors: Nats and Reds have a "trade agreement in place" for Brandon Phillips?

According to reports tonight, the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds have a trade in place that will bring Brandon Phillips to D.C., as long as he agrees to the deal, which he can block since he has "full no-trade protection." Will BP come to D.C.?

By Patrick Reddington
Joe Robbins/Getty Images

According to a report on Twitter by FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, there is apparently a "trade agreement" in place between the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds that will bring Reds' second baseman Brandon Phillips to the nation's capital.

As Rosenthal writes, however, "talks with Phillips continue," according to his sources.

As he noted in an article on the trade talks recently, "[f]or the deal to happen... the Nationals would need to persuade Phillips to waive his full no-trade protection as a player with 10 years of major-league service, five consecutive with the same club."

The 34-year-old, 14-year veteran is coming off a .294/.328/.395 campaign with the Reds in 2015 which saw the second baseman hit 19 doubles and 12 HRs in 148 games and 588 plate appearances, over which he was worth 2.6 fWAR.

Phillips himself hinted (subtly?) at the possibility that something was up on his own Twitter account tonight, about an hour before Rosenthal's report:

Nats' GM Mike Rizzo was asked about this past weekend about the Nationals' continued search for a left-handed bat at second and center.

"There [are] a lot of things and possibilities that we can do via the free agent market and the trade market," Rizzo said.

"So we're going to see what fits for us nicely and what deals we can make. We're just out scouring and looking for players that help improve the roster and make us a championship-caliber club."

Will Phillips accept a move to the nation's capital, if the reports are, in fact, accurate? If so, the second baseman would be reunited with new Nats' skipper Dusty Baker, who managed Phillips with the Reds from 2008-2013.

A Brandon Phillips-Danny Espinosa middle infield? Trea Turner at short with Phillips at second and Espinosa in the utility role? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, since Phillips still reportedly has to accept the trade...

How long does it take to fly from Cincinnati to D.C.?

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