The 39-year-old Phillips was hitting .310 with two home runs and nine RBIs at the time of the trade. The fiery leadoff hitter had been rumored to be on the trading blockfor the past week as the White Sox have been looking to trim payroll and fill gaps in their pitching and bench. Phillips is slated to make $1.8 million this season.
Phillips returns to the Anaheim team that he led to within one game of the American League West title in 1995. Phillips hit .261 and drove in 27 HRs and 61 RBIs while leading the team with a club-record 113 walks that season.
Exactly where Phillips will play is another question, as the Angels are deep with outfielders. The move could mean the end to the playing career of future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray.
"There is a very good chance that Phillips will be used as a DH in Anaheim," said ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons. "There is also a possibility that this could be the end for Eddie Murray. "
In exchange for Phillips, the White Sox strengthened their bullpen by adding left-handed veteran McElroy and catcher Fabregas. The latter became expendable after the Angels signed Jim Leyritz during the off-season, and he could see significant playing time in Chicago. White Sox manager Terry Bevington benched catcher Ron Karkovice last week after the veteran publicly questioned his late-inning pitching moves.
Fabregas is hitting .079 with no home runs in 38 at-bats this season, and McElroy has posted a 3.45 ERA with no decisions in 13 appearances.
 | Ventura |
Ventura underwent surgery until 4 a.m. ET Saturday morning at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in which a pin was inserted in his leg. He will be sidelined for approximately three to four months, according to team spokesman Scott Reifert.
Ventura will be unable to put weight on the leg for six weeks.
"They put a screw in there and cleaned everything out. Everything went well," general manager Ron Schueler said. "Dr. (James) Boscardin said he has seen a lot worse but there was a lot of damage."
Ventura was carried from the field and the ankle was put back into place in the clubhouse before he was taken to the hospital, where X-rays revealed a compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula, a team spokesman said.
"Knowing Robin and his work habits, hopefully he can come back before (four months)," Schueler told the Chicago Sun Times.
White Sox manager Terry Bevington said he plans to use 26-year-old Chris Snopek at third base. Snopek hit .260 with six homers and 18 RBI in 46 games last season.
Right fielder Tony Phillips can play a variety of positions and could be used at third base.
"I haven't given it a great deal of thought because, obviously, you don't contemplate things like that," Bevington said. "But you don't replace players like Robin Ventura. You don't replace people like Robin Ventura."
Snopek, 26, played 46 games with White Sox last season and batted .260 with six homers and 18 RBIs. He played 22 games in 1995 and batted .324.
"This is not how I wanted things to happen," Snopek said. "I'll just prepare to be in the lineup every day and try to handle it properly."
After walking and advancing to second base, Ventura tried to score from second base on Ray Durham's single to left, but was thrown out to end the fourth inning. After Boston catcher Bill Haselman applied the tag, Ventura did not get up, holding his leg in the air with his ankle gruesomely twisted.
"I saw guys wave to the dugout, but I didn't want to see it," said shortstop Ozzie Guillen. "I didn't have the guts to see it.
"I feel more sick right now than I felt with my injury," said Guillen, who missed most of the 1992 season after hyperextending his knee in an outfield collision. "To see his body go that way, that's what got me."
A woman in the stands who did see the injury had to be treated by medics after fainting.
"I was walking off and I heard someone say, 'Oh, man,' " said Red Sox pitcher Steve Avery, who was 10 feet away backing up the play. "It looked like he caught his foot on the plate."
Ventura's wife, visibly shaken, came onto the field but was escorted away by White Sox personnel while medics attended to the 29-year-old player.
Boscardin, the senior team physician, tried to realign Ventura's ankle on the field but couldn't because of muscle spasms. The ankle was realigned inside the clubhouse, where Ventura was hooked to an intravenous tube.
"Just to see him laying helpless like that, that's tough to take," first baseman Frank Thomas said. "These kinds of things happen all the time in sports, but when it happens so close to home, it's not fun to see."
Ventura has been a mainstay in the White Sox lineup since 1990. He hit .287 last season and posted career highs with 34 homers and 105 RBIs.
A four-time Gold Glove winner and 1992 All-Star, Ventura is a career .276 hitter who is fifth in White Sox history with 144 home runs.
