Rumors have been circulating all over the place that the Cincinnati Reds are looking to trade their star second baseman, Brandon Phillips, this offseason. There is no question that the Reds could get a lot of talent in exchange for Phillips and save some money to perhaps sign a big-name free agent, but the Reds should want to keep Phillips for a long time to come.

Last season Phillips had a good year as for the fourth year in-a-row he hit 18 home runs and knocked in a career-high 103 runs. The big complaint about Phillips’ stats was his batting average at .261, his lowest since 2008. Phillips didn’t get too many hits, but a lot of the hits he did get came at the right time which is how we was able to collect 103 RBI.

A lot of people have called into Cincinnati radio stations and talked about Phillips. Countless people have brought up his attitude, and there have been instances where it seems like he’s selfish and rude. Early in the year Phillips was talking about how outraged he was that the Reds were able to pay Joey Votto an ungodly amount of money but weren’t able to give him the cash he expected. Later in the year, Phillips acted very childish to a Cincinnati newspaper reporter named C. Trent Rosecrans, calling him a “fat mother (expletive)” after he was asked about his on-base-percentage.

Brandon Phillips isn’t really a jerk. He isn’t really a bad guy, and he is loved by his teammates and the majority of fans in Cincinnati. He is without a doubt the best defensive second baseman in Major League Baseball and arguably the best all-around second baseman in the National League.

Phillips was a big reason why the Reds made the playoffs in 2013. He is really the face of the franchise, and it would be foolish for the Reds to trade him.

Coop Ledford is a Cincinnati Reds writer for www.RantSports.com. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @CoopLed and add him on Google Plus.