"Brandon Phillips enters Opening Day with a very secure job. He is coming off an All-Star Star, Gold Glove year.

He is a player Reds fans love. He's an autographing-signing, Winter-Caravan-attending, Twitter-sending marketing dream.

But Phillips doesn't have to go far back to an Opening Day when not only did he have job security -- he didn't have a job. A few days before Opening Day in 2006, the Cleveland Indians designated Phillips, once one of the bright stars in the stars in organization, for assignment. Phillips was out of options and had a reputation of being hard to deal with.

He sat at home for a week before the Reds acquired him on April 7 for a player-to-be-named. The Reds completed the deal by sending right-hander Jeff Stevens to the Indians on June 6 of that year. The trade looks like a major steal now.

Phillips is eternally grateful for the second chance.

"I love it here," he said. "They took me in and gave me a second chance. They gave me a contract. They really invested money in me. I feel like I did a great job giving it back to them. I'm ready for more. I love it here. I love the fans."

Phillips is in the last year of his four-year, $27 million contract. The club holds a $12 million option for 2012 with $1 million buyout. The small-market reality is this: While Phillips is an extremely valuable player, the Reds have to look at value versus cost.

Phillips would love to stay.

"But I'm not worried about that," he said. "I haven't heard anything from my agent. All I can do is play the year. Hopefully, I'll be a Red for life."