JUNE 5: Manager Bryan Price told reporters prior to last night’s contest that Byrd will be in a soft cast for a week to 10 days and will be further evaluated once it is removed, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter).
JUNE 2: Reds left fielder Marlon Byrd exited Tuesday’s contest in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch, and manager Bryan Price told reporters after the game that X-rays revealed a fracture in his right wrist (Twitter link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Further updates on Byrd will likely be available tomorrow.
Acquired from the Phillies this winter in exchange for pitching prospect Ben Lively, Byrd got off to a dreadful start with the Reds. However, after slashing just .169/.188/.273 in the month of April, Byrd came to life in May, batting a hefty .244/.353/.581 with eight homers. That production put to rest concern among some Reds fans that the 37-year-old didn’t have anything left in the tank, and it also increased the likelihood that even if Cincinnati fell out of the NL Central race, they’d have a reasonably desirable trade chip.
The severity and exact location of the fracture aren’t known, so at this point it’s difficult to know precisely how Byrd’s injury will impact the Reds’ summer plans. Even if he is back in relatively short order, though, hand/wrist injuries can sap the power production of a player upon his return. And with a severe enough fracture, it’s possible that he could be sidelined into the month of August. That wouldn’t preclude a trade — if the Reds had intentions to trade Byrd at all, of course — but it would certainly complicate the process.
Furthermore, the injury may have significant financial implications for Byrd, whose two-year, $16MM contract contains a vesting/club option. That option, valued at $8MM, becomes guaranteed if Byrd totals 1100 plate appearances between the 2014 and 2015 seasons, so long as at least half of those plate appearances come in 2015. In other words, he needed 550 plate appearances this year to guarantee himself an additional $8MM. Presently, Byrd has 184 plate appearances, leaving him 366 shy of that additional guaranteed money.
Yeah, I saw this on the crawler on ESPN, what rotten luck.
Then the Red lost a big lead and then just simply lost on a walk-off.
If the Red didn’t have bad luck, they wouldn’t have any luck at all.
Although, Cueto pitched well. It’s just whomever came after him did not.
“That option, valued at $8MM, becomes guaranteed if Byrd totals 1100 plate appearances between the 2014 and 2015 seasons, so long as at least half of those plate appearances come in 2015. In other words, he needed 550 plate appearances this year to guarantee himself an additional $8MM.”
This would read a lot more clearly if you replaced “half” with “550”. It sort of reads like he needs half of his total 14-15 PA to come in 15 which is obviously silly and not the case.
I think it’s pretty clear.
What’s clear is that he will actually be MORE valuable in a trade if the option DOESN’T vest.
Some middle reliever in A ball just avoided being dealt to the Reds for Byrd and doesn’t even know it
It’s now gonna cost an A ball Closer!
The Reds have been pillaged by injuries these last couple years.
That and a questionable lack of leadership
I don’t question the lack of leadership !
The Reds really have 4 non trade choices here.
1) Mesoraco. If he can play LF without further injuring himself. Chances are he would have to go on some form of rehab assignment to learn the position and see if he can physically endure playing every day.
2) Kyle Waldrop .313 OBP . Probably the choice that is going to be made.
3) Yorman Rodriquez .263 OBP
4) Ivan DeJesus. Problem with DeJesus is that he is an infielder by trade. But come on how hard can it be to replace Byrd’s 38 year old defensive skills?
To me, playing the outfield on an injured hip sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Conspiracy theory: When Reds traded for Byrd, they were concerned about having to pick up next year’s $8 million option. RAJ says, “don’t worry, we’ll take care of that” ::Wink, wink::
You trust Amaro to run a conspiracy? If he had been in charge of the JFK plot he’d have gone to reporters on Nov 23, 1963 and blamed Kennedy’s death on the public.
Yeah, you’re right. I give him too much credit.
Sorry for Marion, I wonder if Reds will be the Market for an Outfielder from the Red Sox or the Brewers Gomez or the Juicer Braun.
Looks like a career ender, unfortunately. Really enjoyed Byrd with the Mets.
Their still a long way to go in the season so don’t count the Mets out.
I think you replied to the wrong comment, bud.
Well that might cause some problems trade wise for byrd
Today’s Farfetched Baseball Proverb:
Hitting Byrd in the hand
Equals hitting Randy Bush and Homer Bush.
Price told reporters that Byrd is going to be in a cast? Doesn’t that give their opponents a huge advantage?
It’s the cast of The Cincinnati Theatre’s “The Lost Season: Reds in 2015”.
I suffered a fractured wrist over the winter. I in hard cast for 4 days, soft case for 10 days after the surgery. I was in physical therapy for about 2 months and didn’t get full motion of my wrist back until about 6 weeks after the surgery. Byrd looks to be an August waiver wire deal.