New Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd hit .283 with 20 homers for Texas last season. (Ron Jenkins/AP)
By Paul Sullivan
The Cubs have agreed to a three-year deal, $15 million deal with free-agent outfielder Marlon Byrd.
Byrd, 32, hit .283 with 20 home runs and 89 RBI in 146 games last season for the Texas Rangers.
This marks the second straight season the Cubs have signed a free-agent outfielder from Texas, and general manager Jim Hendry is confident it will turn out better than the Milton Bradley acquisition.
"He's about as good a guy as you can find in a clubhouse," Hendry told the Tribune today, adding that new Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo -- who worked with Byrd in Texas -- "really loves him."
In eight major-league seasons, Byrd is hitting .279 with 60 homers.
"(Jaramillo) really thinks he 'got it' the last year or two, just like (Mark DeRosa) did in Texas," Hendry said.
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I have to laugh when I hear people say"why don't we bring somebody up from the minors to play the outfield. We are not exactly the phillies who field an all-star team of home grown players. The only person who has a higher opinion of our system than some cub fans is hendry.you would probably have a hard time naming more than a hand full of long term impact position players over the last 20 years.I can only think of one outfielder,palmiero.you had Walton and smith in'89. Walton didn't last and smith became a pretty good bench player.
Before we get to high on our prosects remember:c.Patterson,e.Patterson,hee sop choi,Bobby hill,Garry Scott. I could name a lot more but the point is they were all "can't miss" prospects who missed.
I think hendry is probably the worst g.m. In baseball but I think this move wasn't bad. What other choices did they have?Cameron and damon would have been a good fit 5 years ago,holiday?that's what we need another 100 millon dollar contract.when you compare Byrd at 5 mill to fukudome at 12 mil he looks great.if fuk ever put up numbers like Byrd ,hendry would give him an extention with a no trade clause.you actually have to pay more than 12 mil for fuk because you need another of. to platoon with him!
If you look closely at the picture above, you will see that Byrd gets hit in the head with the ball. Its O.K. Its not like he will forget how many outs in an inning.
I read some texas rangers fans comments and the consensus is that byrd plays hard is a great clubhouse guy,good guy in the community and they are dissappointed the rangers could'nt re sign him.At least 50 people said that.He is the complete opposite of bradley, byrd has a good attitude they say the guy hits in the clutch to.He is the perfect complimentary player and does everything well.I'm gonna have a positive attitude and hope this year cubs are like 2008.Just better playoff results.Also the deal is backloaded so the cubs can still get a pitcher or somethin
More false hope for gullible Cub fans.
Interesting quote
"(Jaramillo) really thinks he 'got it' the last year or two, just like (Mark DeRosa) did in Texas," Hendry said.
I guess Hendry misses DeRosa too. Too late. A good trade, though. Should help a little...
Another mediocre player for a mediocre team for another mediocre season. Yet the stands will be filled. Ho-hum.
Is this the final answer or piece to the puzzle? Who knows? Is this an upgade from what they had in CF? You HAVE TO SAY YES.
I am a lifelong Cubs fan who lives in Dallas and who has watched Byrd play. He's a hard-working, stand-up guy who was widely respected and liked by his teammates. He's an excellent outfielder, he doesn't dog it, and he hits in the clutch. The fans will love him. This is a great signing!
Cut the sam fuld/Reed johnson love affair already.The guy is 28 and a BACKUP.Not a starter A freaking RESERVE.He had 97 at bats and had a Whopping 2 rbi's he is worse than felix pie at the plate.Yea he's hard nosed and crashes into fences and all that but when it's the 7th inning and you need a key at bat sam fuld aint the guy.Reed johnson is injured always,back problems,broken bones,strained quads He's ALWAYS hurt did you forget the only reason the cubs got reed was because toronto released him? Reed was an average player thats it.You guys love mediocrity.I did'nt see reed helping the cubs hoist any World series trophies so he is expendable.Give byrd a chance as long as he is positive unlike bradley's pyscho ass cubs should be alright.Injuries did hurt this team in 09 hopefully they are healthy in 2010.The best moves aren't always the biggest names or most expensive Ie:Jim Edmunds and rich harden in 2008.
I get so sick and tired of people complaining about every move Hendry makes. This is a good signing, the guy is a solid player and adds some speed and defense to the lineup. His salary is actually fairly average, so this is a good signing for an everyday centerfielder.
I'm not a fan of Hendry's, but while he hasn't made a big splash signing there have been some good moves in there in both the roster and the coaching staff -- I feel that if the players tune into Jaramillo (which I believe they will), he will make a big difference to this team's approach to the plate. There is still plenty of time, but a team needs to be more than just eight everyday players.
Some of you people slay me. We could have traded Milton Bradley straight up for Ichiro and people would complain Hendry brought in another outfielder that blocks Sam Fuld's path to an everyday big league job.
"Jim on December 31, 2009 1:59 PM
Hey Craig, If I was a girl, you probably couldn't talk to a woman anyway! Could you? that's why you cling to your "Peter Pan" dreams of the cubs winning.............anything!"
Of course you make a Peter Pan reference, as it so easily comes to your mind.
I have always defended Hendry, but this pattern of signing free agents has got to stop. His 'pattern' is to :
A) Give contracts are too long. No way Byrd wouldn't have signed for 2 years, IF this is where he wanted to be.
B) Show lack of faith in his farm system - like last year with the great Aaron Miles signing. Hendry had Andres Blanco and others in the minors that could definitely produced better numbers than Miles did. Miles also could have been 'had' for ONE year. DOESN'T HE EVER LEARN?
C) Next year Hendry will be looking for someone to 'take Byrd' off his hands, for chump change - then he will overpay for some other mediocre 'talent'.
D) Where is the LH balance in this lineup, that Hendry has been talking about for years, now! This will be Kosuke's final year, what's he going to do, look for another RH bat? Maybe sign J. Dye for 3 years? Or trade more Ricky Nolasco's for Juan Pierre's?
I have no problem with signing Byrd to play CF for the Cubs. He's got a reputation as a good clubhouse guy and will be a nice change of pace from the Milton Bradley show. However, why couldn't we just bring up somebody from the minors? Don't the Cubs HAVE someone in the minors who can play OF? Also, why the 3 year contract? He had a career year in a contract year, SURPRISE! They should have signed him for one year and possibly more money.
Fact Checker -- The Sox probably sold a ton of tickets prior to the 2007 season since they were two years removed from winning the WS and coming off of 90 wins in 2006. Fan anticipation probably didn't translate into filled seats that season.
Cubs in 2108 on December 31, 2009 1:02 PM
Ozzie Guillen was right when he said that Sox fans won't show up to watch a horse**** product while Wrigley is just a huge party.
--------------------------------------------------
You might want to look at the 2007 season. Third highest attentance in their over 100 year history. 90 losses.
Was Ozzie spewing the company line? Yes.
Was he right? Absolutely not.
Full disclosure...I am a Cubs fan...But I am sick of Cubs fans complaining about every single move. $5mil/yr is NOTHING in today's MLB. No one is pretending that Marlon Byrd is an All-Star. Or that he's supposed to hit 50 HR's a year. The guy is a moderately above average outfielder who doesn't strike out that much, and has a decent average and OPS. Why do my fellow Cub fans expect that every free agent Hendry signs should be a Hall of Famer who can hit .750, with 55HR's 223 RBIs, and pitch 330 innings with an ERA of 0.115?!?! Reed Johnson is gone (accept it, he's gone), Bradley is ready to destroy Seattle, and Fuld hasn't played a full season. We need an outfielder. This is a good move that meets an immediate need. It is a fairly low contract that should be relatively easy to move if it doesn't work out. And 3 years is NOT LONG TERM! Not at $5mil per it's not! Chillax. Wait for the season to at least start before you start chastising the entire organization. And if you just have to do something with your anger, there are plenty of Sox fans around town to make fun of.
"Jim on December 31, 2009 1:06 PM
I want to say as a Sox fan............ROFL............."
Only a Sox fan would use 'ROFL.' Just like a girl would.
Marlon Byrd was the best free agent option for cf. He hit 283 43 doubles 20 Hr's and 89 RBI. Not bad stats people. The thing I still question is that the Cubs still don't have a leadoff hitter. They better trade or sign a 2nd baseman or shortstop who can leadoff. With the lineup they have right now...Fukodome needs to bat 5th to balance out all the right hand hitters otherwise it will be Lee,Ramirez,Byrd,Soriano,Soto(not much balance) I hope Hendry has some more moves in the works. I wouldn't mind trading Theriot and getting an upgrade at SS and 2nd base.
World Series? ....nah
.....3 million fans....YES !
I love my job!
I am not too thrilled, but this isn't so bad. We still need a real CF and SS, but Byrd can be a 4th OF or acceptable substitute if we have injuries or let Fuk go next year. We missed out on Beltran and then spent more on Sori followed by missing out on Furcal. Now we cam wait for Castro, look a real CF and keep Byrd for his versatility. no team wins it all without a real CF or SS, and my biggest Hendry criticism is he simply does not get this.
Good signing, this guy should hit well in Wrigley. You guys will be happy when Byrd has a really good year and will still be a Cub since he was signed for more than one year, instead of having a big year and then heading to Boston or New York.
First of all Marlon Byrd is 32 and won't be 33 until next August. Another fine job of reporting by Paul Sullivan.
Second, quit your whining. You all sound like a bunch of women in here. The only other viable option would have been Cameron but he will be 37 on Jan. 8th so he's almost five years older. Posednik, Ankiel and the rest of the options are the suck. Where is Jason Bay going to play in our OF? He can barely play LF as it is and we all know Soriano isn't going anywhere. The Cubs don't have the money available it would have took to sign Bay or Holliday anyway. Besides 5 million is nothing these days so it's not like he overspent. Sure, it would have been nicer to give the guy a 2 year deal but the length of the contract is the only downside I see here.
$5 mil for 3 years is about right for a career .278 hitter who plays good defense. I don't see where Hendry overpaid for Byrd. An average player gets an average salary.
Hendry's real mistake was ending up in the position where he had no choice but to sign an average outfielder. All the better talent was picked up by other teams in Nov and Dec while Hendry was trying to get rid of Bradley.
3 YEARS!!! WTF already with locking these guys up. This guy is a one year tops two year deal. What a waste this team is going to be a disaster in two years with all the long term deals. I thought Tyler Colvin was going to be ready in a year and he is a CF. Another stupid move. The Cubs spend money yes but like a drunken sailor!!
It's all Rudy Jaramillo's fault..............
Attaboy Jim. You've clearly learned your lesson about bidding against yourself and giving long term contracts to guys with little to no track record. Hahahaha. And the Cubs continue to get what they deserve.
Jim on December 31, 2009 1:06 PM
I want to say as a Sox fan............ROFL.............
------------------
And the creepy obsession of all things Cubs of those from the crappy side of town continues..........
So, Hendry got this guy 'cause his new hitting coach "just loves him". He's had good numbers for one year? Why is Hendry still with the Cubs?
I swear, this man insists on setting the Cubs up for failure. Why doesn't he go work with a team that deserves him, like the White Sox?
I agree with posters motojones and mark derosa. While I'm not leaping up and down with excitement over this signing, let's give it a chance. $15 mil for three years is not a major expenditure in baseball speak. I admit - I wasn't thrilled when the Cubs signed DeRo, and he certainly proved me wrong with his game and attitude. Here's hoping Byrd is more like DeRo than Bradley!
Great, a right handed hitter with virtually identical career stats to Reed Johnson, who wasn't considered good enough to get arbitration. Brilliant.
Don't like this move. 1 year maybe, but 3 years ? Hendry has a history of paying free agents too much for too many years. Did he throw in his usual no trade clause ? Hendry must go. I hope he gets booed mercilessly at the Cubs convention.
I want to say as a Sox fan............ROFL.............
Three years, after this guy's had only one decent season? Who were we trying to outbid for Byrd, the Yomiuri Giants? I didn't seem to hear the rest of MLB clamor for this guy. The key question is, did Hendry give him one of those no-trade clauses that he gives out like Halloween candy, further hamstringing the roster? Cameron, M.Cabrera, Jason Bay, etc., etc., and we get this. Fire Hendry now.
Typical Hendry, overpay in both years and dollars for a below average CF who hits like Koyie Hill when he's not in Arlington. The Cubs were already on a tight budget and have wasted what little they had to spend on John Grabow and now Marlon Byrd. Bold prediction -- Byrd is a bench player by July.
But let's face it, while we can bitch and moan on the internet all day, the Cubs are only going to care once people stop showing up at the park. Lord knows that isn't going to happen any time soon. Ozzie Guillen was right when he said that Sox fans won't show up to watch a horse**** product while Wrigley is just a huge party.
next up a middle infielder? as long as mike fontenot isnt the starting second baseman i dont mind. STARLIN CASTRO TIME!!
well if u look at it, the cubs team this year is not that much different than the team 2 years ago. The two notable missing players, however, are de ro and edmonds. i still think this is a playoff team.
Hey cluepon, Hendry's contract is good through 2013. Are you really willing to wait that long?
God, whata buncha lousy *ssholes you people are. If you knew anything about baseball you'd just shut your mouth and go away. You embarrass yourselves and you're too stupid to even know it.
We all need to relax. The Ricketts family takeover is not the beginning of the build for a world series. We are going to have to wait until Hendry's contract is up. After Bradley, nobody wants to trust him with the purse strings. But we all need to accept that the rotation in contracted management needs to work its way out. By saving that money in the long run (Rather than continue to pay Hendry, and hire a new GM) the Ricketts can...in 2 years time start putting together something better.
When Hendry is gone, and we start getting rid of the dead weight...then we should start to see the cubs being built into a world series capable team. Personally I do not think we will see it for another 2 to 4 years. Im patient. In 5 or 6 years, if we are still spinning our wheels...then it will be time to say: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
In the meantime, everyone should relax. Yes, Hendry is useless. But it's cheaper to let the contract run itself out. It's smarter to just let all these losers filter out. Thats what we expect from Tom Ricketts. Smart.
motojones: i agree with you...it's nice to hear something positive or optimistic! happy new year, my man! :)
this is embarrassing to watch
given the options of byrd and podsednik, i'll take byrd every time. hendry's big mistake was last year when he could have gotten abreu for the price of byrd. right now, byrd is about as good as can be done. it still doesn't make up for the bradley debacle, but i think byrd was the best available option for the cubs. hopefully they can bolster the middle relief too but there are few teams out there, if any, without that problem.
When Mark DeRosa was signed, everyone said WHY? Let's see what happens with Marlon, before we begin to bitch.
De Rosa. Holliday. Damon. Those are names I would have preferred in the headline. What do I know? i live in exile in Denver.
hendry
sign me for 5 mil a year, im great as long as i don't
have to run and im only 62, close to your age group
Aww c'mon Jim! We will find out that Byrd is on steroids, gets old or gets hurt. Just use one of the minor leaguers or find one on another team.
here's the positive: we have 1 more million to spend on another free agent thanks to the milton bradley deal. woo hoo!
I dont agree with this acquisition but stop acting like hendry overpaid for this guy.5 mill a year is a bargain.They say the guy is a great clubhouse presence and he can play all 3 OF positions.He does'nt strike out much Look at the positives instead of whining.Cubs got rid of bradley so it should automatically be a better attitude and chemistry in the lockeroom.All you guys do is bitch and complain.Like I said I'm not excited but I'll wait and see.3 years 15 million is not some major albatross deal it's a bargain
Is there a fire JimHendry.com yet? I can't stand this moron!!!! Every GD year he signs another idiotic long term contract. Future looks bright on the Northside!!!
Hendry is WAY worse than Angelo!!!
I give up,I finally realize that this team will never win a championship. EVER.
here's a better question:
who is worse: the bulls head office, hendry or angelo?
Can we please get rid of Jim Hendry? Does he keep wanting to keep the Cubs from having any future with these back loaded contracts on top of poor signings. should have sent him out with Milton.
this is a solid move. it's not a giant splash but its a consistent move that stabilizes the cubs outfield. he can play all three OF spots and he is a GREAT clubhouse guy. this team needs chemistry more than added talent, and byrd will be a positive influence in the clubhouse and jaramillo can continue his work with byrd.
it's as good a move, especially at 3/$15 million. essentially now, we traded milton bradley for silva AND marlon byrd...i think chicago will like this guy. MANY fans in texas are disappointed in losing byrd. that's a tell-tale sign of a great clubhouse guy...
And yet everybody thought milton bradley was the problem. stay tuned folks. Its going to get worst.
Actually, we need to dump Soriano's deal but that will never happen. That deal will kill us for years to come. Marlon Byrd is another player that had a career year and we backup the brinks truck!! When will Hendry learn that you can't base a salary on a career year. We need to develop our own talent and mix in free agents with a track record of consistency. Another crap move by "Jimmy money bags"