Cubs sign Marlon Byrd for $15M

[BLEEDS]

No, not for one year, for THREE!!
For the math-challenged, that's $5M per season - or a mere $1M per year more than we are paying for Willy Taveras!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

Cubs agree with Marlon Byrd on $15M, 3-year deal

CHICAGO (AP)—Outfielder Marlon Byrd(notes) agreed Thursday to a $15 million, three-year contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Byrd hit .283 with 20 homers and 89 RBIs last season for the Texas Rangers. and will likely take over in center from Kosuke Fukudome(notes), who would move to right field full-time after the trade of troubled Milton Bradley(notes) to Seattle.

Byrd gets $3 million next year, $5.5 million in 2011 and $6.5 million in 2012.

A career .279 hitter with 60 homers and 335 RBIs in 785 major league games with Philadelphia, Washington and Texas, Byrd will be reunited with former Texas and current Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. In three seasons working with Jaramillo in Texas, Byrd batted .295 with 40 homers and 212 RBIs.

Byrd led the Rangers in game-winning RBI last season with 12 and hit .333 with runners in scoring position.

He has played all three outfield positions during his career and had a .991 fielding percentage last season with only three errors in 341 chances. He made 100 starts for the Rangers in center field, 35 in left and six in right.

The 32-year-old Byrd originally was selected by Philadelphia in the 10th round of the 1999 amateur draft.


Sure he gets on base at a .340 career clip, OPS's .800+ (albeit 1/2 in Texas), hit's .333 w runners in scoring position - BUT what is his "In scoring position percentage" huh?!

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[Vottomatic]

Good signing for them.

But we have a glut of OFers and it's time for the youth movement in Cincy. So I wouldn't have seen him fitting in much.

[HalMorrisRules]

According to this ESPN article, the Reds offered Byrd a multi year contract. I am glad he didnt accept.

Good Fit

Here is what Keith Law had to say about the signing:

The Cubs' signing of Marlon Byrd, which seems to me like too much money and too many years, could be the latest in a Groundhog Day-like series of outfielder mistakes for general manager Jim Hendry.

Marlon Byrd is a nice fourth outfielder who could play every day on a non-contender, but he doesn't handle centerfield well enough to play it every day on a team with aspirations of playoff contention and doesn't hit well enough to play every day in an outfield corner.

[vottofan4life]

Use that money for a SS and use it on miguel tejada///2 years 5 million per year

[BLEEDS]

Nice to know we at least tried going after a guy like this. At least he's better than Taveras, and my point was he was only $1M more than we are on the hook for Wily.

Yes we have GLUT of OF'ers, unfortunately none of them are any good. I like Stubbs' upside, but he's far from proven. I think his D is really good though, so I can live with him and Bruce in the OF. I'd really like an every day veteran proven LF-er instead of the 3 headed Ghila monster that is Dickerson/Nix/TBDsuckage.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[BLEEDS]

Wow, how bad/slow is this off-season?!?!? How about 120 posts contemplating how a guy we DIDN'T sign would have affected this team!?!:

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79789

tORG, you gotta love 'em!!

PEACE

-BLEEDS