Marlon Byrd Rumors Continue To Swirl In Seattle

The Seattle Mariners are in desperate need of some help offensively. They have been rumored to be interested in almost any right-handed bat that is available, especially if they can play in the outfield.

But the latest name to surface may have some traction.

Marlon Byrd is said to be on the Mariners radar and the way he is playing this season, you can see why.

The 36-year-old outfielder has a slash line of .265/.316/.483 with 18 homers and 54 RBI. He’s on pace to strikeout over 200 times this season, but the average would be the best among Mariners outfielders and the home run totals would lead the team.

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Speculation began days ago when Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com suggested that the Mariners could be interested in Byrd, Josh Willingham, Alex Rios, Dayan Viciedo and/or Junior Lake. We’ve talked in great detail about all of them over the past few weeks, with the exception of Lake.

The problem with Byrd seemed to be that he had a no-trade clause with four teams on it, as specified by Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly. That list included the Mariners. Though according the article, Byrd states that the Mariners and Royals were added at the time, simply because.

Now, according to a tweet sent out by Ryan Divish, Byrd is willing to waive his no-trade clause for a deal to Seattle.

Signing a veteran like Byrd wouldn’t and shouldn’t require giving up major pieces – something the organization wants to avoid. Not sure what it would take for a deal to get done, but probably something in the neighborhood of Erasmo Ramirez or Brandon Maurer and a minor league position player or a bullpen arm.

Or perhaps Byrd is just part of a larger package the Mariners and Phillies could work on that included Cole Hamels, giving the M’s the additional arm they want as well without having to give up Taijuan Walker for David Price.

Byrd is signed through 2015 and has a third-year option for $8 million on his contract – and would be 39 at the end of that season – if the option kicks in with 600 plate appearances in 2015.