SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants have declined the $8 million club option for outfielder Marlon Byrd, according to Janie McCauley of The Associated Press.
Byrd, 38, earned $8 million in 2015, half of which was paid by the Philadelphia Phillies as a part of the Dec. 31, 2014 trade that sent the veteran to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor-league RHP Ben Lively.
On August 20, Byrd was dealt from Cincinnati to San Francisco, along with cash considerations, for minor-league RHP Stephen Johnson.
When the Phillies signed Byrd to a two-year, $16 million contract on Nov. 12, 2013, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. created the vesting option, which later turned into a club option under the Giants' control with no buyout.
MLB Trade Rumors' Zach Links describes the details of the option that failed to vest:
The deal includes an $8MM option for 2016 that vests if Byrd gets 600 plate appearances in 2015 or 550 plate appearances in 2015 and a total of 1100 plate appearances in 2014 and 2015. If the option does not vest, it becomes a team option.
While Byrd exceeded the requirement of at least 1,100 combined plate appearances in 2014 and 2015, 1,181, he was just six plate appearances shy of 550 in 2015, 544 – and the guaranteed $8 million that would have came along with it.
Byrd, a 14-year veteran, produced 53 extra-base hits last season over 544 plate appearances. His most productive month in 2015 came in May, when he hit produced three doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 15 walks and 17 runs-batted-in over 102 plate appearances.
There were also 36 games this past season where Byrd had multi-hit performances, eight of which came in the month of September.
Byrd will surely sign with another team who seeks a third or fourth outfielder. The Phillies could be interested if they seek a veteran presence to guide Odubel Herrera and Darnell Sweeney in their sophomore seasons.
Aaron Altherr is also expected to contend for a starting outfielder position this spring.
Byrd missed playing time in 2015 after fracturing his right wrist against Phillies RHP Sean O'Sullivan on June 2.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
