‘Reenergized’ Ellis joins Phillies after trade

NEW YORK — A.J. Ellis seemed to be in better spirits Saturday than Thursday, when he learned the Dodgers traded him to the Phillies.

Ellis had spent his entire career with Los Angeles, which leads the National League West and has World Series aspirations. But in a flash, Ellis learned his time in L.A. had ended as the Dodgers sent him, a Class A Advanced pitching prospect and a player to be named later to the Phillies for Carlos Ruiz. Not only did Ellis have to leave the only place he had ever played, but he had to join an organization not headed to the postseason.

Ellis joined the Phillies before Saturday night’s game against the Mets at Citi Field. He said he is getting acclimated to his new reality.

“The first 12 hours were definitely the hardest,” he said. “Really hard to say goodbye to a lot of relationships I had been blessed to forge for more than a decade.

“I told someone earlier on the way in that the waves of emotion are getting farther and farther apart, which is a good thing. To arrive here and arrive in the clubhouse, meeting the staff, I’m starting to feel reenergized, refilled with a sense of purpose as to why I’ve been placed here, and why this is where I …

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