Around this time last year, we began to learn how tight of a grip Brandon Phillips had on the Cincinnati Reds. The team’s 2B for the last decade had rightfully earned his 10/5 rights - the rights that allow a player who has been in the league for 10 years and with the same team for 5 consecutive years to veto any trade in which he’s involved - and as the team became increasingly aggressive in their rebuilding strategy, it became clear that any and all veterans on the roster would be actively shopped.
That had already claimed Mat Latos, Alfredo Simon, Mike Leake, and Johnny Cueto, and by December of 2015 both Todd Frazier and Aroldis Chapman were added to that list.