Red Sox land Brandon Phillips on minor-league contract

The Boston Red Sox have signed second baseman Brandon Phillips to a minor-league contract.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Phillips will report to Florida to get in game shape before moving on to Triple-A Pawtucket, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.

"We look at him as a potential major-league player who hits from the right-hand side that can play a number of positions," Dombrowski added. "No promises have been attached to the signing."

Once Phillips reaches Triple-A, the plan is to use him at third base, a source told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. He's played a total of 25 major-league games at the hot corner, all of which came last season.

Phillips, 36, spent the 2017 season with both the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels. He hit .285/.319/.416 with 13 home runs over 144 games. Prior to that, he was a three-time All-Star across 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.

He became a free agent at season's end and failed to land a new contract until Wednesday.

The Red Sox have been without veteran second baseman Dustin Pedroia for most of the 2018 season due to a nagging knee injury. Phillips could represent an insurance policy if Pedroia is unable to return, though another source told Rosenthal that there's no connection between the signing and Pedroia's injury.