SURPRISE, Ariz. -- This is it for Royals outfielder Brett Phillips, his make-or-break camp.

Phillips, 25, is out of Minor League options, meaning he either goes north on the 26-man roster or his days as a Royal are almost surely over.

“It’s the biggest camp of all for me,” Phillips said. “I have to make the team. Obviously, I believe in myself that I can make the team -- or, if not, someone out there will want me on their roster. But I’m here to make the Kansas City Royals’ roster.

“I think I’ve shown that I can help teams win with just defense alone. I know the bat will come along, too, with more time and more reps.

“Being out of options maybe helps me. In the past, it was always, ‘Go down to the Minors and work on this.’ But now, being out of options, it allows players to really have an opportunity up here.”

Phillips, acquired along with right-hander Jorge López from Milwaukee for Mike Moustakas in 2018, always has had an intriguing skill set. He has well-above-average speed and possesses a rocket arm -- Statcast once recorded one of his throws at 104 mph.

“That’s the first thing you notice with him,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “It’s that arm. And we value defense. We will go defense late in games.”

What has held Phillips back is his offense. He posted a .799 OPS in 37 games for the Brewers in 2017, which made him a key part of the trade for the Royals. But in 66 games with the Royals, he has hit .169 and has mostly looked overmatched.

After a rough start at Triple-A Omaha last season, Phillips made a significant discovery with his mechanics in late May.

Essentially, through time, Phillips’ grip on the bat handle had sunk into the palms of his hands. With that grip, he wasn’t able to release the barrel quickly through the zone.

Phillips changed his grip more to his fingers, and it made all the difference. For the next two-plus months, Phillips hit 10 triples and 15 home runs and posted a .623 slugging percentage and a 1.024 OPS.

That got the Royals’ attention, and he was called up in mid-August.

“The adjustment allowed me to stay on plane more and it got the barrel to the ball faster,” Phillips said. “Contact rate went up and ever since I made that adjustment, my OPS went way up. I believe that’s who I am. That was me.”

But that offense didn’t carry over to the big leagues last season. He hit .138 in 79 plate appearances during the final six weeks, which made for an interesting end-of-season conversation with hitting coach Terry Bradshaw.

“It was about how I would assess my season,” Phillips said. “I was in the bigs for 30 games and started 19 of them, with a little sporadic playing time. It was kind of hard to assess.

“But if you looked at my season when I was called up, that was the best I had been in a long while. I wanted to carry that over into the big leagues, but it didn’t really happen.”

Phillips has another chance to prove himself this spring. He also has a friend in this camp to confide in, someone in a similar situation -- outfielder Bubba Starling also is out of options.

“We always talk about how nice it is to have someone else in the same boat,” Phillips said. “Every day is a tryout for us. We’re not just here to get ready for the season, like some of the guys. We’re here trying out. It’s big for both of us.”