Giants acquire outfielder Marlon Byrd from Cincinnati; Pence on DL

Outfielder Marlon Byrd is headed to the San Francisco Giants after a trade with the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

The Giants have been considering Byrd since before the July 31 trade deadline, according to general manager Bobby Evans, but talks accelerated quickly when Pence suffered a moderate left oblique strain Monday night in St. Louis.

A day after losing out on second baseman Chase Utley, whom the Philadelphia Phillies traded to the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending World Series champions made their own move to replenish an outfield that has dealt with injuries to all three starters. He and the Giants will play his former team at home in mid September.

The Reds announced the trade Thursday afternoon.

With Hunter Pence officially heading to the disabled list, Byrd will likely snag the everyday right field position from Justin Maxwell. “I talked to him and he’s very excited to be coming here”. In exchange, a 24-year-old right-handed minor-league pitcher named Stephen Johnson heads to the Reds.

The Giants have sustained multiple injuries to their outfield this season, and Byrd will fit as a power source. Paying that kind of money to an outfielder who will be 38 just doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially for a team that may not be competitive until 2017.

The Giants are on tap for about $1M left on Byrd’s contract this year out of the original two year, $16M deal signed prior to 2014. Used as a reliever, Johnson has a 3-0 record, a 3.41 era in 58 innings and 68 strikeouts with San Francisco’s Double-A affiliate.

Cincinnati Reds slugger Marlon Byrd is packing his bags and heading out west.