Reds Rumors: Jocketty Expects To Retain Phillips

As most people expected, the Cincinnati Reds expect to have second baseman Brandon Phillips back in tow next season. GM Walt Jocketty told as much to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, with the writer concluding that this likely means the team will be picking up Phillips' 2012 club option at the very least.

The Reds have a $12 million option on Phillips, 30, for next season. That's good value for one of the best second basemen in the game, but Phillips told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com not that long ago that, "If they just pick my option up and don't extend me, I feel like that's a slap in my face."

Phillips has played well this season, hitting .294/.346/.452 with plus defense in 144 games; he's been easily the best second baseman in the NL this season, with his 5.3 WAR being over a win higher than the next-best player at the position. An extension would likely be for four or five years at around $10-12 million per season, with the likes of Rickie Weeks and Dan Uggla being used for comparison.