Houston Astros The
Houston Astros selected Phillips in the sixth round, with the 189th overall pick of the
2012 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Astros rather than play
college baseball at
North Carolina State University. In 2012, Phillips made his professional debut with the
Gulf Coast Astros of the
Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, hitting .251 in 54 games. He played in 41 games in 2013 between the
Greeneville Astros of the Rookie-level
Appalachian League and
Quad Cities River Bandits of the
Single-A Midwest League, hitting .242/.347/.331 in 157 at-bats. Phillips started 2014 back with Quad Cities and was promoted to the
Lancaster JetHawks of the
High–A California League after posting a .883
on-base plus slugging (OPS) and 13 home runs in 103 games. He finished the year hitting .310/.375/.529 with 17 home runs and was named the Astros'
Minor League Player of the Year after the season.
Milwaukee Brewers On July 30, 2015, the Astros traded Phillips,
Domingo Santana,
Josh Hader, and
Adrian Houser to the
Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for
Carlos Gómez and
Mike Fiers. He finished the season with the
Biloxi Shuckers of the
Double–A Southern League. However, he strained an
oblique muscle and was sent to minor league camp before he could appear in a game. The Brewers opted to assign Phillips to Biloxi to start the 2016 season. The Brewers added him to their 40-man roster after the season. He started the 2017 season with the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the
Triple–A Pacific Coast League. On June 5, 2017, Phillips was called up to the Brewers to make his MLB debut. In limited action, he hit .276 with four homers and 12 RBI. On June 7, he had a throw on an outfield assist, throwing out
David Freese out at home plate. That was the fastest throw by an outfielder that season. Phillips began the 2018 season in the minors and only saw 24 plate appearances with the Brewers, hitting .182 with 11 strikeouts, a .523
OPS and four RBI.
Kansas City Royals On July 27, 2018, Phillips and reliever
Jorge López were traded to the
Kansas City Royals in exchange for infielder
Mike Moustakas. He made 18 appearances for Kansas City during the 2020 campaign, hitting .226/.294/.387 with one home run, two RBI, and three stolen bases.
Tampa Bay Rays On August 27, 2020, the Royals traded Phillips to the
Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for
Lucius Fox. Phillips was activated on September 4, making his Rays debut as a pinch-runner in a 5–4 victory over the
Miami Marlins. On October 24, in Game 4 of the
2020 World Series against the
Los Angeles Dodgers, Phillips recorded his first career postseason hit, a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning that yielded two runs (one coming on an
error), giving the Rays an 8–7 win and tying the series at two games apiece. He became the first player since
Kirk Gibson in
1988 to have a walk-off hit with two outs with his team trailing in the World Series. Despite the heroic feat by Phillips, the Rays lost the next two games to the Dodgers, ending the team's second bid for a World Series title. On July 2, 2021, Phillips made his first career pitching appearance in a blowout loss against the
Toronto Blue Jays, and pitched one inning, allowing one run on an RBI single to
Santiago Espinal. Between July 29 and August 11, Phillips hit three
grand slams in only 19 plate appearances, second only to
Jim Northrup who did so in 14 appearances in 1968. Then on August 16, he hit an
inside-the-park home run, and the combination of three slams plus one inside-the-park home run in only 19 days broke a record held by
Babe Ruth, who accomplished the same feat in 36 days in 1929. In 2022, in 184 at-bats for Tampa Bay, Phillips slashed .147/.225/.250 with five home runs, 14 RBI, and seven stolen bases. He was
designated for assignment on August 1, 2022, following the Rays' trade acquisition of
José Siri from the
Houston Astros.
Baltimore Orioles Phillips was traded to the
Baltimore Orioles for cash at the
trade deadline one day later, on August 2, 2022. The back of his Orioles
jersey featured his
surname above uniform number 66, a
word play on the
Phillips 66 company name. In 2022 for Baltimore, after going 2-for-17 with two doubles (.118/.118/.235) and nine strikeouts, he was replaced by
Kyle Stowers on the team's 40-man roster and designated for assignment 17 days later on August 19. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to the
Norfolk Tides three days later on August 22. He would've forfeited more than $300,000 remaining on his $1.4 million salary for 2022 had he elected to become a free agent. He elected free agency on October 6.
Los Angeles Angels On January 9, 2023, the
Los Angeles Angels signed Phillips to a one-year, $1.2 million contract. He appeared in 20 games for the Angels, going 1-for-13 (.077) with 3 walks and 2 RBI. Phillips was designated for assignment on May 20, when
Jared Walsh was activated from the injured list. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A
Salt Lake Bees on May 24. On September 6, Phillips was selected back to the major league roster. In 39 games for the Angels, he slashed .175/.268/.333 with 3 home runs, 6 RBI, and 3 stolen bases, with 36 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances. Following the season on October 16, Phillips was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. However, he subsequently rejected the assignment and elected free agency.
Chicago White Sox On January 4, 2024, Phillips signed a minor league contract with the
Chicago White Sox. In 17 games for the Triple-A
Charlotte Knights, he hit .120/.228/.280 with one home run, seven RBI, and three stolen bases. The White Sox released Phillips on May 4.
New York Yankees After being released by the White Sox, Phillips began working to transition into a career as a
pitcher, training with former MLB pitcher
Sean Gallagher. On July 30, 2024, Phillips signed a minor league contract with the
New York Yankees. He was signed as a pitcher after striking out the side for the GPS Legends in the
National Baseball Congress World Series. He was assigned to the
Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees'
Single-A affiliate. He pitched in one game, allowing five runs and getting no outs, walking two batters, hitting another, and committing a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. Phillips elected free agency following the season on November 4.
Kane County Cougars On March 25, 2025, Phillips signed with the
Piratas de Campeche of the
Mexican League. However, on April 30, Phillips signed with the
Cleburne Railroaders of the
American Association of Professional Baseball. He did not appear for the team before being released on May 7. On May 9, Phillips signed with the
Kane County Cougars. In six appearances for the Cougars, Phillips went 0-for-8 with three walks; in four outings as a pitcher, he struggled to a 33.00 ERA with two strikeouts over three innings pitched. On May 31, the Cougars hired Phillips to become their hitting coach, placing him on the inactive list. He was released from the club as a player on June 2. On October 5, Phillips announced his official retirement from playing. ==Personal life==