NEW YORK -- Outfielder Brett Phillips, acquired from Milwaukee along with pitcher Jorge Lopez in exchange for Mike Moustakas late Friday night, finally made it to Yankee Stadium during Saturday night's game.
But his bats never made it, apparently lost by the airline, so for now he will use one from Hunter Dozier.
"Plenty of hits left in that one," Dozier joked.
Phillips, the Royals' No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is known as a terrific defender, and he showed why in his first start in Sunday's 6-3 loss.
In the fourth inning, Phillips snared a line drive from Greg Bird and threw a dart to third, holding Aaron Hicks at second base. Moments later, Phillips leaped at the wall and took an extra-base hit -- and possibly a homer -- from Austin Romine.
Following is a quick Q&A with the young outfielder.
Q: So what was Friday night like for you?
Phillips: We were [at Triple-A] Colorado Springs, and we were just about to have the national anthem, and they pulled me aside and said I was scratched. Usually when that happens, that means you're going up to the big leagues or, since I've been traded before [from Houston to Milwaukee in 2016], I thought maybe that was a possible scenario. They didn't tell me until the ninth inning. I just sat there the whole game. Then they told me in the ninth inning I was going to the Royals. Pretty exciting.
Q: What was the travel like Saturday?
Phillips: I was up at 3 a.m. and got about one hour of sleep. Flew from Colorado Springs to Houston at 5 a.m. Got delayed three hours there and got [to New York] about six at night and got to the stadium about the sixth inning.
Q: How did you meet your fiancée [Brianna, daughter of former Royals manager Trey Hillman]?
Phillips: Her aunt was my physical education teacher in high school [in Florida], Miss [Vicky] Wood. So they were at a Spring Training game in 2015, and I just went over to say hi to Miss Wood and give her a hug, and she introduced me to Bri. She caught my eye. We've been together three years, and we just got engaged.
Q: You mentioned being traded before. How does this one compare to the previous one?
Phillips: The first time I was traded, it was bittersweet, because it was the team that drafted me. This time it's just sweet. This is better for my career.
Q: How would you describe your skill set?
Phillips: Defense is a strong suit of mine. I take a lot of pride with my defense. Hitting is not going to show up every day, but defense has to. I like to think that I'm fast. I got a little pop. I've hit for average in the Minors.
Q: You had a big year at Colorado Springs last season [.944 OPS], but the results weren't there this season [.240 average, six home runs, 25 RBIs]. Any explanation?
Phillips: You try to minimize those years of going up and down. Going into last offseason, I'm not going to lie, I was on my high horse. When I was talking to [Royals general manager] Dayton [Moore], he said they'd been trying to acquire me since last fall, which is awesome to hear, even though I'm having a down year in the Minors. Means a lot to me that the organization has [overlooked] some failures this year.
Q: I'm sure you get asked this a lot, but how do you feel now about the famous videos of your laugh that have gone viral?
Phillips: It's never something I thought would bring so much laughter to the world. I tell everyone I'm known for the wrong reason in baseball. Everyone has labels like 'incredible pitcher' or 'power hitter,' and I'm known as the guy with the weird laugh. I'm 'crazy laugh guy.' It's something I can't control.