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Phillips arrives, declines to speak with reporters

Price doesn't think offseason trade talks will be an issue for second baseman

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Following a turbulent offseason of trade rumors, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips reported to Spring Training on Wednesday on the day the full squad was scheduled to report.

Phillips declined to speak with reporters, however.

"I'm just here to play," Phillips said through a team spokesman.

During November and December, Phillips' name repeatedly came up in reports of possible trades. At the Winter Meetings when it surfaced that Cincinnati offered him to the Yankees for outfielder Brett Gardner, which New York declined.

Perhaps unhappy about the trade rumors, Phillips also would not speak with reporters during Redsfest.

Reds manager Bryan Price did not think Phillips would have any issues this season with the team after the events of the winter.

"I've spoken with him a small handful of times this offseason," Price said. "He made a good commitment to come out for Redsfest. What I'd love to do is talk about this at the front end of Spring Training and then just get past it. To me, it really has gotten to the point of a non-issue. I don't even really think about it at this point in time. We're so far past those early offseason times where it was a front-and-center question."

In 151 games last season, Phillips batted .261 with 18 home runs, a .310 on-base percentage and a career-high 103 RBIs.

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon.
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