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Phillies sign Marlon Byrd to two-year, $16 million deal

The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with outfielder Marlon Byrd. Fake Teams breaks down the fantasy implications.

By Alex Kantecki
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sport

The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a two-year deal with outfielder Marlon Byrd, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

The two-year deal is worth $16 million, reports Rubin.

Byrd, who started his career in Philadelphia, settled for a minor league contract last season, but arguably had his best year to date, hitting .291/.336/.511 with 24 home runs, 75 runs and 88 RBIs split between the Mets and the Pirates. Byrd spent the previous season with the Cubs and Red Sox, hitting just .210/.243/.245 with one home run before his year prematurely ended with a 50-game ban for performance-enhancing drugs.

Byrd's comeback was one of the better storylines of the past season, and it was enhanced after a midseason trade to October-deprived Pittsburgh, a city without a postseason berth since Barry Bonds led the team there in 1992.

Byrd will man right field for the Phillies, with Domonic Brown in left and Ben Revere patrolling center. Darin Ruf is also a candidate to see playing time in right. With an AAV (Average Annual Value) of $8 million, the Phillies get Byrd at a relatively low cost, but, at 36, it's doubtful he's the same player we saw hit .364/.391/.591 in the postseason. Byrd's previous home-run high was 20, with the Rangers in 2009.

While Byrd smacked 24 long balls with the Mets and Pirates, I doubt he reaches the 20-home run mark next season, even with a friendly home field environment at Citizens Bank Park. Byrd set a new career worst with a 24.9-percent strikeout rate in 2013, but he was aided by a career-best .353 BABIP. A near 80-point jump from a career .145 ISO certainly seems fluky, so I wouldn't trust Byrd as anything more than a low-end No. 3 outfielder in fantasy, and even that's being generous.

For more on the Phillies, check out The Good Phight, SB Nation's team fan site.

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