Marlon Byrd turned in a career year at age 36 and parlayed that performance into a two-year, $16 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to published reports.
Byrd started he season with the New York Mets before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates and hit a combined .291 with a career-high 24 homers and 88 RBIs during the regular season, then drove in five runs in six postseason games with Pittsburgh.
One of general manager Ruben Amaro‘s top offseason priorities was adding a power-hitting right-handed bat to the outfield mix of of Domonic Brown, Darin Ruf and Ben Revere.
Byrd played in the Mexican League last winter, trying to get back on the radar of major league teams. He hit only .210 with one homer in 47 games between the Red Sox and Cubs in 2012 before serving a 50-game suspension for a positive test for Tamoxifen
Philadelphia Phillies Rumors
Philadelphia has shown serious interest in free-agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who is the Phillies’ top alternative if they can’t reach an agreement with longtime catcher Carlos Ruiz.
