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Reports late Friday said the proposed trade between the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds for infielder Brandon Phillips was at a standstill as the Reds and Phillips tried to work out compensation to convince the infielder with 5/10 rights to accept the move.
"Phillips with 5/10 rights has not approved the trade yet and is not expected to until the Reds work out some type of fair compensation for him to waive his rights," former Reds and Nats' GM Jim Bowden wrote on Twitter.
"The onus is on the Reds, not the Nationals, to persuade Phillips to consent to a deal," Washington Post reporter Chelsea Janes wrote, citing a "person with direct knowledge of the negotiations", before adding that according to a source, "... [a]s of late Friday, Phillips and the Reds had made no progress toward that agreement."
"There has been no progress made in the negotiations with Brandon Phillips on the proposed trade from the Reds to Nationals," Bowden added in a follow-up report.
"Now [it's] looking unlikely the deal is consummated unless the Reds change their stance dramatically according to a club source directly involved in the negotiations."
According to a report by FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal this afternoon, the deal might not be consumated:
Sources: #Nationals moving on from Phillips, pursuing other options. Kendrick could be one; a trade could be another. Murphy low priority.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 19, 2015
Always a chance that Phillips talks could revive, but for now it appears @DatDudeBP will not be getting traded from #Reds to #Nationals.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 19, 2015
Are the Nationals really moving on or backing out to put pressure on the Reds and Phillips to get a deal done?
And the Howie Kendrick note?
Kendrick, 32, played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 after he was traded from the LA Angels last winter.
In 117 games and 495 plate appearances, the 10-year veteran put up a .295/.336/.409 line with 22 doubles and nine home runs in a 2.1 fWAR campaign. He rejected a qualifying offer at the end of the season.
Will the Nationals find the second baseman they're apparently after this winter? With all the talk about needing a left-handed bat, why do they keep going after right-handed hitting infielders? Will they add a left-hander in the outfield to go with a second baseman?