Marlon Byrd has played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball. The Reds are the eighth organization he will have played for when Year 14 starts in April.
It's not like he can't stick with a team. His services have been in demand. The Reds hope his services will fill the void that has been left field the last two seasons. They hope that even at the age of 37, Byrd can produce as he has for the Mets, Pirates and Phillies the past two seasons.
The Reds don't need a savior in left field. They just need some stability and productivity.
That's what they believe they traded for on Dec. 31 when they acquired Byrd from Philadelphia for minor league pitcher Ben Lively and cash.
Ryan Ludwick was a big reason why the Reds got 35 home runs, 118 RBI and a slash line of .275 batting average/.337 on-base percentage/.471 slugging percentage out of their left fielders with a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating of 4.1 in 943 plate appearances in 2012. Health issues that began with Ludwick suffering a torn shoulder labrum on Opening Day 2013 created a revolving door at the position the last two seasons that has never stopped.
Reds' left fielders the past two seasons have combined to hit 38 home runs with 181 RBI and score 183 runs in 2,056 plate appearances over a combined 773 games. That's a lot of players shuffling in and out to that position. Those players combined to hit .234/.294/.351 with a WAR of minus-0.8. That ranked them 27th out of MLB's 30 teams.
They weren't helping win games consistently.
Byrd has played right field primarily the last two seasons between his time with the Mets, Pirates and Phillies. He's played in 301 games with 1,216 plate appearances and hit .277/.323/.476 with 49 home runs, 173 RBI and 146 runs scored. His WAR of 6.0 the last two seasons ranks him 22nd out of all MLB outfielders in that span, according to FanGraphs.com.
"I'm going to a contender and have a chance to win," said Byrd during an introductory conference call with Cincinnati media. "You try to come in and be a piece to the puzzle and that's all that I'm doing right now."
Byrd's only postseason experience came in 2013 with Pittsburgh, which included going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the Pirates' 6-2 win over the Reds in the NL Wild Card game.
Just where Byrd's bat will fit into manager Bryan Price's daily lineup will shake itself out during spring training in Arizona, but he figures to fit in somewhere in the middle, from No. 4 to No. 6.
Byrd will make $8 million this season, half of which is being paid by Philadelphia. If he reaches 550 plate appearances, which he has done four of the last six seasons, he has a vested option for 2016 that will pay him another $8 million. If not, the Reds will have the option of whether or not to pick up his contract for next season.
REDS SPRING TRAINING OUTFIELD OUTLOOK
40-man roster: Jason Bourgeois, Jay Bruce, Marlon Byrd, Juan Duran, Billy Hamilton, Donald Lutz, Yorman Rodriguez, Skip Schumaker, Kyle Waldrop.
Non-roster players in camp: Brennan Boesch, Chris Dominguez, Ryan LaMarre, Felix Perez, Jesse Winker.
Projected starters: Marlon Byrd (LF), Billy Hamilton (CF), Jay Bruce (RF)
Burning question: How does Jay Bruce come back from what was his worst season in the majors?
Bruce has always been a streaky hitter, but in each of his first six seasons he showed improvement, be it from a statistical standpoint or the maturity of his overall game. That wasn't the case in 2014. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last May and missed minimal time on the 15-day disabled list but never found a groove to a season that saw him finish up hitting .217/.281/.373. He also struck out 30.2 percent of his at-bats, a career high. Bruce has always had high strikeout numbers but he made up for those with his power. That wasn't the case last season. Some of it was injury, but he had a strong month of June after returning to the lineup. Some of it was teams playing defensive shifts against him. According to FanGraphs.com, Bruce hit 45.2 percent ground balls last season (a career high) compared to just 34 percent fly balls (a career low) and showed a greater propensity to chase pitches out of the strike zone. Bruce has enough experience and success under his belt to believe he can bounce back in 2015. It will be a matter of him making needed adjustments.
Prospect to watch: Jesse Winker
Winker, 21, is the No. 3 overall prospect in the Reds organization according to Baseball America. He's coming off a year in which he was a California League All-Star at High-A Bakersfield, played in the MLB All-Star Futures game and was named a Rising Star/Top Prospect in the Arizona Fall League. He is likely to start the season at Double-A Pensacola.
Under the radar: Skip Schumaker
Versatility is the biggest asset Schumaker brings to the Reds. Yes, they will need big years out of their big-name players in order to compete for the NL Central title this season, but they will need play from their bench as well. Schumaker played four different positions for the Reds last season (2B, LF, CF, RF). He is one of those intangible guys, a player you want in the clubhouse and around the team for reasons that can't necessarily be quantified. Price has made sure to drop Schumaker's name as much as possible when talking about this season's club and its chances for winning.
