36-year-old Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd is hitting .270/.318/.477 with 20 home runs in 446 plate appearances, making him one of the better power hitters available in advance of this afternoon’s trade deadline. Byrd has no-trade protection for the Royals, Mariners, Rays, and Blue Jays, plus about $2.6MM in salary remaining this year. He’s owed $8MM for 2015, with another $8MM that could vest for 2016 based on plate appearances. Furthermore, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted Monday that Byrd will only waive his no-trade clause for those four teams if his option is exercised. The latest on Byrd:
- The Yankees are out on Byrd, hears ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
Earlier Updates
- The Phillies’ asking price for Byrd is extremely high, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. He says the Phillies gave the Mariners a list of three good prospects and suggested the Ms pick two of them. That request, plus Byrd’s no-trade protection, “seemed to scuttle things” between the two clubs. ESPN’s Jayson Stark tweeted yesterday that the Mariners were out on Byrd. A source who spoke to Heyman says the Phillies believe what they’ve been offered so far for Byrd is “embarrassing.”
- The Yankees, Pirates, and Giants are among the teams that have been previously linked to Byrd and have not been ruled out.
I’m seriously confused as to why the Phillies are being so demanding. No one is drinking their Kool-Aid and they need to get younger in a hurry. Byrd isn’t exactly a top tier talent, so demanding 2 top prospects seems a bit of a reach to me.
Probably why they have more “trade-able” players than just about anyone, yet haven’t moved any.
Phillie fans have got to be annoyed with RAJ.
Extremely annoyed at this point
The Mets got Dilson Herrera (one of the best 2B prospects in the game) and Vic Black (currently their 7th inning guy) for a rental of Byrd last August.
Byrd is no longer a rental, has a very reasonable contract and has proved last season wasn’t a fluke. I’d demand top prospects too…
Sure, but you’re not GETTING top prospects. It’s one thing if he’s actually dealing. But to sit and be stubborn, eh. We’ll see if things change by 4pm, but I don’t think Byrd goes anywhere.
In the article, it says 2 good prospects. It doesn’t say top. Good could mean an organization’s 7 and 9 prospects. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility to ask for 2 guys in the bottom half of the top 10 for (arguably) the best bat available.
RAJ is trying to save his job and secure future years by landing multiple highly touted prospects. Unfortunately for him Hamels is the only player that will land that type of haul.
Exactly, Cole is the only one who is going to bring a return. No one else will.
How he still has a job is beyond me, I could have done better than him.
Then package Hamels & Byrd to the Mariners in a three way trade like w/ the Astros, Cubs, Padres, or the Red Sox. That will help the M’s smell the coffee to catch the Angels and Blue Jays in the Wild Card race (possibly Oakland for the division too if Napoli is included in the big trade).
You don’t trade just to trade. That is how you get Aumont Gillies Ramirez.
I’m admittedly annoyed, but I have a feeling ownership is hampering him by not allowing him to eat much money on the contracts. If the deadline goes by and RAJ does nothing the only thing that will satisfy me will be him getting replaced as soon as the season is over.
The article says “good prospects,” not top prospects.
Good prospects does not mean top prospects. Still, I’d take one for the guy. It’s a sellers market. Overpays everywhere. If Amaro thinks he’ll ever get more for the likes of Byrd, burnett, Bastardo than he will right now, he’s an idiot.
Top. Good. Middle. Bad.
You still got nothing for him.
The problem we have is that there is no young talent to replace a Marlon Byrd without rushing a prospect which can backfire. The Phillies need young players ready or almost ready for MLB not cash relief. This winter and next year should be much easier to move people as the bad contracts expire in 2015 or 2016. They are building through the draft now and have good young talent in the A to High A ranks. AA to AAA is pretty barren right now.
Except they don’t need to replace Marlon Byrd. They could put a warm body out there until the end of the year if that’s what it takes, but the Phillies aren’t competing for anything but high draft ranking this year.
Byrd has very smart agents. They anticipated him being traded and knew those teams would be 4 of his likely suitors so they listed them in order to get them to guarantee the option in the trade. Well done.
Two of them are because of turf. I doubt they saw Seattle and KC as legitimate spots for him…
Then why not include the Astros then?
The Astros have their own no trade clause. It’s called “being the Astros.” Why on earth would they ever trade for a veteran guy with close to 20 million left?
And Jack Z is getting hammered by the media for dogging other GMs??!! Come on! These GMs think Jack Z is desperate to save his job, so they are taking advantage of the situation and attempting to soak him like the O’s did with Bavasi when Bavasi was in a desperate mode.
Bavasi devastated our entire Farm and franchise. To Jack Z’s credit he is “preserving” our Farm for what is best for the Mariners future, despite knowing his job maybe on the line! You have to admire Jack Z for not succumbing to a “Bavasi style approach”!!!
Pirates GM was in desperate mode at this time last year and look what they did by acquiring Byrd, Morneau, and couple other players that propelled the team to the one game Wild Card playoff.
But he did not have to deal with the Phillies
The phillies GM signed the players to all the bad contracts and he is now trying to pry top prospects for them, since he knows they are on the downward projection. The only disadvantage to that is no one is going to trade top prospects for end-of-career players that are signed to insane contracts, unless the phillies pay most of the salary, which they are adamant they won’t do. As the trade deadline comes and goes, Philly will have a few more years with the same guys until their contracts expire with the same barren farm system. It was said earlier and I agree. The Phillie fans are up the river for at least the next five years unless they take the loss or next to nothing to dump contracts. byrd isn’t worth a teams’s top two of 3 prospects. A team wouldn’t trade them for Price, let alone byrd, which shows insanity coming out of Philly this morning.
“byrd isn’t worth a teams’s top two of 3 prospects”
And the media is slamming Seattle GM for not pulling the trigger on these trades. Amazing!
Ummm, what media are you watching? Every time RAJ’s name comes up, the media comes down on him like a shark in a tornado storm!
Your analogy sounds like “SyFy meets MLB.” ;)
Byrd really isn’t a bad contract though. He’s more than earned his salary this year and his 2016 option is tough to vest, so if he does manage to make it vest he’ll likely be worth his contract that year.
I agree asking for 2 good prospects is too much, but he needs to get at least 1 for it to be worth doing the trade.
Problem is Amaro gave him a 4-team No trade clause and Seattle is one of those 4 teams. To go to Seattle Byrd wants that 3rd year option guaranteed. I think Phils and Byrd could agree to a partial buy-out of $4M which the Phils send to Seattle, but they’re probably going to send some money with him this year and possible next year.
Is Seattle really going to trade the Phillies prospects they think are worth spending $8m-$10m on?
Seattle needs Byrd the Phillies don’t need to move Byrd now.
Keeping Byrd does no good, they are not going to compete next year and Byrd will be one year older at that point, so if I were the Phillies I would be eager to trade Byrd and all the other veteran pieces to try and rebuild the farm.
Eager, yes. But it’s not a desperate need.
RAJ is overplaying his hand in my opinion, Byrd is on the wrong end of 30 and he could fall off or get injured at any moment and he has value now. Injuries can happen at any time and bring a players value down just look at Cliff Lee. Also if you keep Byrd your going to have to expect him to repeat this season going into next year. The Phillies are not going to compete with their current roster so selling off and building for the future is their best bet to rebuild or else they will be in this position for even longer.
But you don’t sell just to sell. Phillies aren’t in a money crunch, so selling Byrd just to get back “a prospect” (who could be on the level of a non-prospect) is not smart. I’d rather he just wait it out and try again in the offseason if people think his demands are “too high”. People have become too attached to their prospects – thinking that they are all going to pan out. I agree he shouldn’t be expecting back Walker and Peterson for Byrd – but I don’t see why asking for back-end top 10 guys is too much.
I’m not saying that Byrd wouldn’t get a good prospect. I just feel that asking the M’s for their two of their better prospects is overplaying his hand. The Mariners have a deep system but they won’t give up two top prospects for Byrd. If I was Raj I would be content with taking two guys from the top 20 in the Mariner’s system. I also agree that they shouldn’t sell to sell and get nothing of value in return, but they have the Veterans that other teams would like and give up decent prospects to acquire and yet RAJ is overvaluing his guys. He should of sold off the majority of the Veterans the past two deadlines and went to a full on rebuild mode. Just look at Lee for example, he could of gotten a kings ransom for him the last two years, but then he gets injured and his value goes down and that is always a risk when dealing Veterans.
He says the Phillies gave the Mariners a list of three good prospects and suggested the Ms pick two of them.
If, I am Jack Z, I would pass!
There’s Cespedes available after being traded from the A’s for Gomes & Lester this morning if the Mariners & Red Sox can acquire him w/ pitcher John Lackey or first baseman Mike Napoli, esp. Taijuan Walker as one of four or five pieces possibly headed to Boston.
I would LOL if Seattle somehow landed:
1. Cespedes and Lackey by Noon today!
Plan B may work out better by sending Hamels & Cespedes, Lackey & Byrd, or Byrd & Napoli to the Mariners in a three team trade.
Nobody knows which prospects.
I would laugh so hard if Seattle somehow landed:
1. Cespedes and Lackey by Noon today!
Other option is a three way trade w/ the Phillies that will work out well since the Red Sox like the Phills are rebuilding on young players.
The Phillies are trying to make up for years of bad financial decisions by trying to move Byrd, Howard, Papelbon, and Lee. But they really have no leverage because these players are aging and in decline and and every other GM knows that.
Name a player that isn’t aging…
I’ll wait.
Byrd is actually in the opposite of decline. Howard isn’t going to get moved and everybody knows it. Papelbon is in the opposite of decline. Lee is injured – whether that signals the start of decline, or just a blip, we probably won’t know until the off-season at least.
Does anybody actually believe the Phillies will do anything before the deadline? They’re hopeless with Amaro.
Amaro, Jr. & Jack Z are both in a similar situation on the trade deadline. I’ll be surprised if Cliff Lee (another stint) or Hamels & Byrd get moved to Seattle for some prospects including Nick Franklin & first base help by Hart/Montero/Morrison. Another idea is pulling a three team trade w/ the Red Sox by sending John Lackey & Marlon Byrd, Cole Hamels & Mike Napoli, or Cespedes & Hamels to the Mariners. That may be one of the biggest trades before the deadline of this season if being a hot rumor currently.
You should be on the Phils’ payroll. At least you’re trying to be creative. Looks like Lackey just went to St. Louis.
What do we think the “good” prospects from Seattle are? I know tajuan walker has struggled, but in my opinion, to somehow get walker for Byrd would be amazing
Can the Red Sox include Napoli or Lackey in the three way trade as it may be a good idea to get both or all three of them? Another option is to acquire Cespedes & Hamels if Byrd & Lackey/Napoli don’t work out in the proposal.
That’s the thing nobody knows but thinks the Phillies ste asking for the best ones. They said good prospects.
Chances are non of the ms prospects will become what Byrd is now.
Prediction:
If Cliff Lee proves he is healthy and the Dodgers do a waiver claim, Amaro will pull him back and demand the Dodgers pay his entire salary and trade 1 or 2 of the big 3.
I thought there was ZERO chance he made it through this deadline without at least dealing, Byrd, bastardo and Burnett.
Learned my lesson. Never underestimate the ineptitude of Rube Amaro, Jr.
Gotta love trade deadline day: The Yankees have acquired Byrd. The Yankees actually never acquired Byrd.
Least the Yankees picked up Esmil Rogers…
Ruben Amaro is like a kid who licks all his French fries so no one else can have one.
A 36 year old with a so-so at best contract, isn’t going to return you two good prospects. Doesn’t hurt to ask I guess, but there is really no reason for the Phillies to hang onto Byrd, especially considering they can’t trade three of their other older veterans due to no-trade clauses or in Howard’s case, a horrific contract.
I can’t believe he couldn’t even trade Byrd. I love RAJ.
I’m absolutely shocked RAJ didn’t at least make one trade. I mean no other team had the motivation and resources to make deals, in a sellers market no less, than Philly and Rube has completely and utterly blown it. Its just incredibly gross incompetence no mater how you look at it.
How does RAJ still have a job? He overvalues his players astronomically and apparently refuses to negotiate. He won’t eat cash (even though he overpayed the guys he’s trying to trade), demands top prospects for good but not great players… baffling.
I was just wondering where is all the Philly news? How did this team not make some deals today?
the Phillies front office is slightly embarrassing.
Slightly?
he was being polite. he meant to say Amaro is incompetent and a disgrace to the fans that are supporting his team. Any other GM would have tried hard, made sacrifices to get something back for the four players that other teams actually want, but he did nothing, dooming the fans to another season of failure. He is trying to peddle a Pinto at Rolls royce returns and it doesn’t happen.
Amaro wouldn’t know talent if he fell over it! We need to trade Amaro! I will agree the Phillies need to get some younger players in a hurry. To all Philly fans we need to be patient this is not the same dominant team of the mid 05′-08′. This team has gone down hill fast since 09. Our bullpen is a total lose, the starting pitching wouldn’t be bad if they can stay healthy, trade KK or send him the Minors. I am so frustrated with Amaro he can not make good deals or give the players who need to stay good contracts.
It amazes me how much the Phillies overvalue their players, it gives a really bad image to the organization
It would be great if everyone who has tickets to the next Phillies home series did not go. Would love to see the stadium and parking lots empty and the beer guy drinking all the beer.
I get this image of RAJ at 2;30 suddenly realizing, like the Duke Brothers at the end of “Trading Places”, that his phone won’t ring and he’s got everyone in the front office scrambling to call anyone and him running around yelling “SELL, SELL” to get ANYTHING of value for the horrible contracts/players he’s stuck with. As a Cardinals fan, I feel sorry for Phillies fans. As a baseball fan, I feel sorry for the Phillies.
The biggest question of the day is this…. How did the Twins get Tommy Milone for Sam Fuld????? Billy Beane should have called Rube for a Milone for Revere trade, it would have been a better trade, Fuld is a 4th OF at BEST.
The Dodgers didn’t get Lester or Price.
Maybe they re-think about trading 2 of those 3 top prospects for Cole in August.
Masterson and Lackey to Cardinals must be having the Dodgers at least considering it.
Cliff Lee an option in August too. (Yankees)
That said, I would have bet money that Byrd and/or Bastardo was gone today.
Ohh well.