Brett Phillips, who played parts of seven major league seasons for five different teams before signing as a pitcher with the New York Yankees, announced his immediate retirement from baseball Sunday.
“The time has come after 13 seasons of playing professional baseball to hang the cleats up,” Phillips said in a video posted to his Instagram account.
Phillips, 31, last played in the majors with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. The following year, he announced he was converting to pitching full-time after making a handful of mop-up relief appearances in the big leagues.
The Yankees signed Phillips to a minor league contract in July 2024 and he got into one game with the Class-A Tampa Tarpons. Phillips faced five batters; he walked one, hit two, and allowed two hits without recording an out.
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Phillips retires with a a .187 batting average in 397 games with the Milwaukee Brewers (2017-18), Kansas City Royals (2018-20), Tampa Bay Rays (2020-22), Baltimore Orioles (2022) and Angels (2023).
Phillips was never known for his offense, but his throwing arm and speed made him valuable as a reserve outfielder. He was 39-for-45 in stolen base attempts in MLB.
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Yet the most memorable moment of Phillips’ career came with a bat in his hands.
The Rays were trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-6, in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2020 World Series. Down 0-and-2 with two outs, Phillips’ single against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen drove in two runs when his sinking line drive to the outfield fell and glanced off Chris Taylor’s glove, winning the game.
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That was Phillips’ ony hit in three postseason plate appearances — all with the Rays in 2020.
Phillips elected free agency after the 2024 season, his only foray into pitching in affiliated baseball. He signed with the independent Kane County Cougars in 2025 and made only four appearances. In three innings, he allowed 11 runs (33.00 ERA).
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