Washington Nationals acquire Howie Kendrick in trade with Philadelphia Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Phillies traded veteran outfielder/second baseman Howie Kendrick to the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

In return for the 34-year-old Kendrick, the Phillies received left-handed pitching prospect, McKenzie Mills.

Kendrick hit .340 with two homers and an .851 OPS in 39 games for the Phillies this season.

"He is a really terrific player and a really terrific teammate," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said of Kendrick. "The fact he hit .340 this year, it helped. I really can't say enough about what he did to help a young team this year, and obviously his on-field contributions speak for themselves."

A 12-year major league veteran, Kendrick joins a Nationals team that sits comfortably in first place in the National League East. Kendrick gives the Nationals' already potent offense another boost. Washington entered Friday ranked second in baseball in batting average and OPS and fourth in home runs.

Klentak called Mills, 21, a "projectable left-handed starter." He was 12-2 with a 3.01 ERA, 0.946 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings at Class A Hagerstown this season.