Brandon Phillips calls his $72.5 million contract a ‘slap in the face’

“I just feel like they didn’t have to sign Joey (Votto) to that contract (10-year, $225-million extension). He still had two more years on his. And for (the front office) to go out there and sign him before they sign me, and they knew I was going to be a free agent?” Phillips shakes his head. “I understand Joey’s a good player. He’s one of the best players in this game. But I feel like I am too. I told them that this is where I wanted to be. I begged them. I told everybody I want to finish my career here. And then they give someone a contract who didn’t ask for nothing?”

“To this day, I’m still hurt. Well, I don’t wanna say hurt. I’ll say scarred. I’m still scarred. It just sucks that it happened,” he says. “For (Castellini) to sign somebody for $200 million, there must be a new vegetable or fruit coming out that we don’t know about. For him to do something like that and tell me they didn’t have any more money, that’s a lie. But what can I do? I just feel like it was a slap in my face … But how can someone slap you in the face with all that money. It’s a nice slap in the face.”

“I haven’t read the article and I’d heard snippets of it, but from what I gathered, Brandon’s reaction was totally human. It’s a feeling I’ve felt before, it’s a feeling most people have felt before.

“Brandon’s a teammate I’ve played with six, seven years now and I love playing with him. I really have an immense amount of respect for him. Those comments have nothing to do with me. It doesn’t change a single thing, it makes me like him more, to be honest with you. Not many players are very honest, usually they give catch phrases, similar to what I’m doing right now. He’s a refreshing guy because he is honest and he does tell people how he feels. You can tell how he feels in that given moment and that’s a great thing. It’s great playing with someone like that. Variety is the spice of life and I love playing with Brandon.

“The smiles and the high-fives and everything we share on the field are genuine. That’s how we feel about each other. That’s how it’s going to be going forward. We play together for this city, we’re tied together because of our contracts, because of the uniform we wear and because of the championship we’re trying to seek out for Cincinnati. I know Brandon feels that way and I feel that way also. That’s really all that matters.”

"What did I say wrong? Please tell me, what did I say wrong? I want to know what I said wrong. Please tell me. I want everyone to tell me exactly did I say that was so wrong?"

“I haven’t paid attention to what people are saying. When someone wants to do a story about you and they want to ask questions, that’s what it’s all about. It’s about people asking questions and you don’t back down from any questions and you tell them how you really feel. I don’t feel like I said anything wrong, I didn’t disrespect nobody, if I did, it’s someone in the front office. The thing is, they know what happened, so I don’t understand why everything’s a big deal. And fans, I didn’t say anything, I love this city, I love Cincinnati, I’m happy to be here, I’m happy with the contract that I got. I’m happy for Joey. I talked to Joey about it, Joey doesn’t really care about what they say. He understands. He respects what I said. I say things people other people won’t say, that’s the type of person I am. What I said. I didn’t say anything wrong. If I said something wrong, tell me what I said wrong.

“Do I feel like they lied to me? If someone tells me they don’t have no money and you find $200 million somewhere, what does that sound like? You tell me."