New Royals player known for laugh, connection to Trey Hillman. But check out his arm

Some 14 hours after arriving at Yankee Stadium as the key return of the trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers, new Royals outfielder Brett Phillips stood at his locker in the visiting clubhouse and tried not to peal into laughter.

(Yes, it was that same guffaw everyone knows about.)

Phillips had just been asked how the heck it came to be that he met former Kansas City manager Trey Hillman’s daughter, Brianna. He couldn’t tamp down the chuckle. It was fair to think Hillman might have played a direct hand in the two meeting during a spring training game with the Astros, the team that drafted Phillips out of Seminole (Fla.) High School in 2012 and for which Hillman has coached since October of 2014.

But when he launched into the Cliff Notes version of the story, Phillips’ answer instead invoked the name of Seminole girls tennis coach Victoria Wood.

“Her aunt was my P.E. teacher in high school,” he said. “When I was with Houston, (Brianna’s) dad was the bench coach. So at the game, Bri was there with Ms. Wood and her mom to see her dad. I was there playing and I went over to say hi to Ms. Wood, give her a hug, and she introduced me to Bri. She caught my eye and I guess they say the rest is history.”

Phillips and Hillman’s daughter have been in a relationship ever since. They’re engaged now, as of a month ago. Both said they’re thrilled Phillips’ career has brought him to Kansas City, where Hillman managed from 2008 until his firing in 2010.

But it’s not the Hillman connection or the breathless laughter Phillips wants Royals fans to focus on — not that he minds either being part of his overall package. It’s the arm strength and nose for defense he wants them to notice.

“Defense is a strong suit of mine,” Phillips said before Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Yankees. “I take a lot of pride in being the best defender I can be.”

Until Friday’s trade, Phillips had been relegated to a reserve role in Milwaukee. He’d spent most of this season shuttling between the Brewers’ Class AAA affiliate and the major-league club. The Brewers had acquired outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich in the offseason and pushed Phillips, their seventh-ranked prospect after the 2017 season, to the sidelines.

But Kansas City, the second organization he’s joined near the non-waiver trade deadline, is in a different situation. Beyond Jorge Bonifacio and Jorge Soler, the Royals have no long-term solutions in the outfield. They acquired Brian Goodwin, an outfielder under club control through 2022, last week, but he might land on the disabled list if the tweaked groin muscle he sustained running the bases in Saturday night’s loss worsens. There’s Alex Gordon, but his contract will be up after 2019.

So general manager Dayton Moore went after Phillips, a rookie who turned 24 two months ago and can play all three positions in the oufield. He will not become a free agent until after the 2023 season and is poised to become a mainstay in the team’s configuration.

“Going into last offseason, I was on my high horse,” Phillips said. “Not gonna lie. I had a good September, showed the Milwaukee Brewers I could play at the big-league level. ... But talking to Dayton, when he called, he said they’ve been trying to acquire me since last fall, which is awesome to hear.”

In his first game for the Royals, Phillips flaunted the tool he’s built his reputation on.

The most notable play was made at the wall in right-center field.. On a line drive hit hard by Austin Romine, Phillips tucked his chin and dashed toward the warning track. As soon as he noticed the ball wasn’t struck well enough to be a no-doubt home run, Phillips timed a leap to snag the ball before it could hit the top of the wall’s padding. The inning-ending play stranded two runners in the fourth, saving starter Burch Smith’s ERA from a walloping.

“He looked good out there in right,” manager Ned Yost said.

Two batters earlier, Phillips ran in to catch up to Greg Bird’s line drive to right field. He came up throwing to third base to keep Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks, who hadn’t strayed from the bag after hitting a leadoff double, at second base.

As Phillips backed into position, he laughed with Hicks.

“I let him know that he’s got a mile per hour on me on Statcast,” Phillips said. “So I let him know I gotta take advantage of every opportunity possible, even if he wasn’t running, to let him know that I’m coming for him.”

That defensive knack is what Phillips wants Royals fans to cotton on to as well.

“Like I said before the game, defense is something I take a lot of pride in, helping these guys out on a daily basis,” Phillips said. “I come in, he’s happy he didn’t give up three runs right there, I’m happy we didn’t give up three urns right there. It’s gotta show up every day and it has. It will show up.”

This story was originally published July 29, 2018 at 5:11 PM.