Reds trade Marlon Byrd to Giants

The Cincinnati Reds traded outfielder Marlon Byrd to the San Francisco Giants, both clubs announced Thursday afternoon. In exchange, a 24-year-old right-handed minor-league pitcher named Stephen Johnson heads to the Reds.

Byrd, who turns 38 years old Aug. 30, is batting .237 with 19 home runs and a .735 on-base plus slugging percentage in 388 plate appearances. He has hit 150 home runs over 1,500 career games, though he’s something of a late bloomer: 68 of Byrd’s career homers have come since the start of the 2013 season, and 110 homers have come since 2009, when he turned 31.

The Giants also are getting cash to cover part of Byrd’s salary, which is $8 million this season. He has a vesting option for 2016 that would pay another $8 million, and he needs 162 plate appearances to reach it. The Giants have 42 games remaining, so it’s attainable, without a big margin for days off.

Byrd jumps into the pennant race for the second time in three seasons. (USATSI)

The Giants stand at 65-55 heading into action against the Pirates on Thursday night. San Francisco sits two games back of the Dodgers in the NL West, and three games behind the Cubs for the second wild-card spot. The Giants, of course, have won the World Series in three of the past five seasons. The Reds, at 51-67, have been selling off. General manager Walt Jocketty made a previous trade with the Giants in July, sending them right-hander Mike Leake, who is dealing with a leg injury.

This is the second time in three season Byrd has been traded into a pennant race; Byrd joined the Pirates in 2013 just before the Sept. 1 postseason roster deadline, coming over from the Mets and hitting .318 with three homers and an .843 OPS in 115 plate appearances with the Bucs. He also homered in Pittsburgh’s wild-card victory, and hit well during the NL Division Series, which the Cardinals won in five games. Byrd spent all of 2014 with the Phillies before signing with the Reds in the offseason.

Here’s Byrd’s home run in the 2013 playoffs, lining a hanging pitch from Cincy’s Johnny Cueto over the fence at PNC Park to get the Pirates rolling:

The Giants have sustained multiple injuries to their outfield this season, and Byrd will fit as a power source. He’s especially good against left-handed pitching — against whom the Giants’ right-handed batters have lacked power. He mostly played left field with the Reds, where his defense appears to be neutral.

Johnson, who stands 6-foot-5, was a sixth-round pick in 2012. He has posted a 3.68 ERA with 237 strikeouts in 200 2/3 career innings. This season, he’s got a 3.41 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 58 innings for Double-A Richmond (Va.). A statistical bugaboo: He has walked 109 batters in his career as a short reliever.

Johnson did not appear on MLB.com’s list of the top 30 Giants prospects, but he might be among the top 40. He was said to reach 102 mph on the radar gun as an amateur, but he probably throws closer to 93 or 94 mph these days.

Here’s video from 2014 spring training:

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