Cleveland Sports Forum

J.R. wrote:Twins and Orioles in Sarasota today:

Great to see you JR, only wish you were in Arizona!

Thanks, LARRY and UD.
I went to Goodyear and several other AZ sites in 2010. I prefer FL, though. I don't suppose the Indians will ever move back?

WinterHaven was much more fan friendly than Goodyear. Hadn't been back to Goodyear since 2008 and the fan access is still piss poor. Security guard told me Eric Wedge was responsible for all the fencing to keep the fans from mixing with the players.

He was appropriately named. He was a Wedge.

USA TODAY Sports

The Indians have agreed to a Minor League contract with OF Marlon Byrd

Hayden Grove

11:26 AM

The Indians have agreed to a Minor League deal with OF Marlon Byrd.

CLEVELAND, OHIO-- The Indians have added another outfielder to the flock.

Veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd has agreed to a Minor League deal with the Tribe pending a physical, according to multiple reports.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and MLB Network was the first to report the deal.

Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com and Jordan Bastian of MLB.com are at the Indians' Spring Training complex in Goodyear, Arizona and each has reported that Byrd is going through the physical this afternoon.

Byrd, 38, has played in parts of 14 Major League seasons with nine teams, including the Phillies, Nationals, Giants, Rangers, Mets, Cubs, Reds, Red Sox and Pirates, compiling a career average of .275 with 154 home runs and 691 RBI.

After spending the 2014 season with the Phillies, Byrd signed with the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2015 season, but was traded to the San Francisco Giants near the trade deadline.
While he hit just .237 over 96 games for the Reds, Byrd posted a .275 batting average with four home runs and 32 RBI over just 39 games with San Francisco.

Byrd will join outfielders Will Venable, Robbie Grossman, Shane Robinson, Joey Butler, Rajai Davis and Collin Cowgill as the Indians' offseason acquisitions in the outfield, as the team seeks to replace the production of Michael Brantley, who is working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.

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By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Opening Day is fewer than three weeks away and the Indians still have an abundance of question marks surrounding their outfield. Under the circumstances, Cleveland is trying to give itself as many options as possible.

On Thursday, the Indians added another outfielder to the mix, agreeing to a Minor League contract with free agent Marlon Byrd. If Byrd passes the physical he underwent on Thursday morning, the deal will be made official and he will join the long list of outfield candidates as a non-roster invitee.

"He's here taking a physical today," manager Terry Francona said on Thursday. "When it's appropriate, we can talk about it, just out of being respectful [to the process]."

As things currently stand, the only perceived locks for the Tribe's outfield are veteran Rajai Davis, who signed with the team over the offseason and can handle left or center field, and right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall. Left fielder Michael Brantley, slated to play in a Minor League game on Thursday, underwent surgery on his right shoulder in November and his status for Opening Day remains unclear.

Cleveland thought it had center field solved with Abraham Almonte's showing in the second half of last season, but he was hit with an 80-game suspension this spring for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Behind that group, the Indians have Joey Butler, Collin Cowgill, Tyler Naquin and James Ramsey on the roster and Michael Choice, Robbie Grossman, Shane Robinson and Will Venable in camp as non-roster invitees. Naquin has stood out the most among those candidates, hitting .444 with a 1.131 OPS through 11 games in his bid to win a role in center field.

"Some of the non-roster guys, they probably need to have good camps," Francona said. "But then it's also got to be a fit at the time. Sometimes we tell them it's not always on your timetable. It might be May. We'll see."

Byrd, 38, hit .247 with 23 home runs, 25 doubles and 73 RBIs in 135 games with the Reds and Giants last season, but he posted a .290 on-base percentage and piled up 145 strikeouts. Over the past three years, he has averaged 24 homers, 29 doubles and 82 RBIs per season in stints with five clubs. Defensively, Byrd played all three outfield spots last year, but he was best in right field (12.4 UZR/150 in 339 2/3 innings).

Cleveland would likely view Byrd as an option for the corner outfield spots and potentially as a platoon partner for Chisenhall in right field. Facing left-handed pitching, Byrd has hit .286 (.802 OPS) in his career with a .271 (.820 OPS) showing in '15.

"This is the one team that wanted me," Byrd said before leaving the complex. "This is a tryout for me."

What a junk pile this organization is

Speaking of outfielders, the report from today's game:

Naquin singled and tripled and struck out in 4 trips. Hitting 452
Davis single in 3 AB, .172
Grossman 0-1 .214
Butler 0-1 .200
Cowgill 0-0 .069 [his 2015 major league avg was 188]
Ramsey 0-1 .095

TRAINER'S ROOM

Indians:

OF Michael Brantley (shoulder) will play his first spring game against the Cubs on Saturday. ...
The Indians signed OF Marlon Byrd to a minor league contract to add depth in case Brantley is not ready to start the season. ...
3B Juan Uribe is expected to return on Sunday after clearing up a visa problem in the Dominican Republic. ...
RHP Danny Salazar got treatment on his left wrist. He was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Reds' Joey Votto on Thursday.

OFs did some hitting on Friday, led by Joey Butler's grand slam off RH Seth Frankoff [he also struck out 3 times]; single by Grossman; 2nd hit of the spring by Venable

No idea why Cowgill was even signed. He is tiny. Short, skinny and a powder-puff hitter.

Move on.

Boy, do the Cubs draw out here in AZ. Tribe usually draws 4-5K per home game. Tonight's game with the Cubs is sold out....13K +

So in Goodyear tonight there will be 3 K Tribe fans and 10K Cubs fans.

Cubs are a great attraction. They are young, they are exciting. They have an identity. They have players the fans can relate to. Reminds me of the good old days (90's). This team could be better.

Players are dropping like flies. And this isn't even the year of the WBC.

all we've lost so far are Uribe who can't find a return flight from Santo Domingo; and Chisenhall who's had the flu for a week.

Civ,

Generally speaking from around the league..........