With both Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence on the disabled list, the San Francisco Giants are in dire need of an outfielder who can help the team’s playoff push.
Byrd brings professionalism and experience to the team, and at the age of 37 he still has plenty of pop in his bat with 19 home runs this season.
That said, he is just hitting .237 with a .286 on base percentage which isn’t very desirable. But in late August with the Giants trailing the Cubs for the second NL wild card spot by 4.5 games and the Dodgers 2.5 games for the division, Byrd was a good pick-up to cover Pence until he returns.
Bochy plans on hitting Byrd at the No. 5 or No. 6 hole in the rotation and is “excited” to have the veteran come on at this time of need for the Giants.
“I’m excited to have Marlon,” Bochy said (h/t CSN Bay Area). “I really respect how he plays the game. He’s excited about coming here. It’s fair to say we could use some help and experience, and he supplies that.”
Giving up Stephen Johnson—a 24 year old pitcher from the team’s double A club—in exchange for Byrd, the Giants seemed to have bolstered their roster for the final playoff push. There is a chance that the grizzled vet stays with the Giants another year as well. He has an $8 milion vesting option for 2016 that kicks in with another 162 more plate appearances. (per Mike Oz, Yahoo Sports)
Hopefully Marlon Byrd can come to San Francisco and show off some of that “old man strength” that will take the Giants to another championship.