7:45pm: Byrd has passed his physical, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer tweets. He’ll earn $1MM if he cracks the major league roster. The contract also includes some incentives, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com adds on Twitter.
11:04am: The Indians and outfielder Marlon Byrd have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 38-year-old Byrd, who split last season between the Reds and Giants, is represented by ACES.
Byrd will add to a growing mix of outfield options for the Indians, who figure to open the season without Michael Brantley (at least for a couple of weeks) and are otherwise relying on a mix of Tyler Naquin, Rajai Davis, Lonnie Chisenhall and Collin Cowgill in addition to fellow non-roster invitees Will Venable, Robbie Grossman and Shane Robinson. On paper, Byrd would bring the most offensive upside of the bunch to serve as a platoon partner for the left-handed-hitting Chisenhall, who thrived in the outfield last year but has longstanding difficulty against left-handed pitching at the plate. Byrd has long been a thorn in the side of southpaw pitchers, and he continued that trend in 2015, hitting .271/.324/.496 against lefties.
Though Byrd was quite productive following an August trade to the Giants, his tenure in San Francisco ended with some degree of controversy. Playing in the final season of a two-year, $16MM contract last in 2015, Byrd needed to reach a total 550 plate appearances for an $8MM vesting option to trigger. Over the final few games of the season, the Giants relegated Byrd to the bench in favor of young outfielders Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson. As GM Bobby Evans explained at the time, the club planned to play Byrd on an everyday basis up until the club was mathematically eliminated from the postseason. If and when that occurred, the team would shift focus and use the remainder of the year to evaluate future options such as Parker and Williamson. Unfortunately, due to the length of time for which the Giants staved off elimination, that meant that Byrd ultimately fell just six plate appearances shy of having his option vest.
Now with the Indians, Byrd will hope to make the club and approximate the solid overall production he’s posted since a career renaissance with the Mets and Pirates in 2013. Since that rebound campaign, Byrd has batted a collective .268/.313/.469. Over the life of a 14-season career in the Majors, his cumulative batting line sits at .275/.329/.430 in nearly 6,000 plate appearances.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Good signing for the Tribe. I Still think the Tribe had a lot of cheap veteran alternatives this offseason.
Yea good cheap alternatives to provide. Did not see Byrd going to the Indians… I had him going to another team in the division, the ChiSox
Didn’t Know Brantley Played for the Reds Good To Know
That’s a whole host of players who don’t play for the Reds in that paragraph, haha. Apologies — too many Reds-related thoughts on the brain between Simon just signing there and Byrd having played there last year, apparently. Fixed.
Steve, ready for that vacation?
I know its not a great way to run a franchise, but San Francisco shouldve given Byrd a 1 million buyout or something. Im pretty sure its obvious he was benched so it wouldnt vest, and they can try to say it was to see prospects, but I dont buy that one little bit.
He could have filed a grievance or something. Not like he was a long time Giant who the team felt the need to be loyal to. Their outfield is pretty old as it is without a 39 year old in the mix as well. Business is business.
Good signing by the Tribe
What a steal.
I’m surprised he lasted this long in free agency. He is getting old but he’s still very capable of playing the field and hitting well. Good pickup for the Indians especially if Brantley isn’t ready for the first month or so.
Byrd is a great addition for the Indians at a bargain price.
That depends on what the price is, and the article doesn’t say.
Now that they added the $1MM price tag, I can’t wait to see the incentives.
The market on veterans was a bargain this offseason. Many clubs traded, instead of going for free agency.
I’m sorry the reporting of any “controversy” during Byrd’s Giants stay is off base. The message he/his agent got from the Giants the whole time was as long as they were in contention, he’d play. It did become a news story of sorts by this site and Giant beat writers/bloggers as it’s rare a player is even allowed to get that close to a vesting option.
In a normal free agent class year, Byrd probably gets a major league deal in a platoon role based off his 2015 work, but this season’s class was large, deep and with star power that he’s just another player for whom this off season did not go anywhere near as planned. Great pick up for the Tribe particularly if he can be as effective with not quite every day AB’s.
Great signing. I think with the additions of Napoli and Uribe these are some great clubhouse veterans who can help the Indians out and also provide good ability to play the field and hit.
Awesome deal. His batting aver. and ops sucked last year but a 453 slugging+ 73 rbis
For a non-guaranteed contract. Why was he left on the market so long. Only slightly more than a replacement player. Possible trade deal cannon fodder. He stills has some name recognition value. What if he has a decent year 250 aver 310 obs 400 slg. and thirty rbis gets you a reasonable prospect or is a minor part of a large deal. Great flyer
You consider a .710 OPS a decent year for a corner outfielder? Yikes. Maybe for a backup catcher or ss but not for a corner OF.
Cardinals take Central Division
What does that have to do with anything?