Marlon Byrd deal likely bad news for Mets’ outfield upgrade plans

If you were hoping Marlon Byrd would return to the Mets in 2014, you got some bad news on Tuesday.

Likewise, if you are a Phillies fan who wants to see the team get younger, Tuesday wasn’t a banner day for you, either.

In another sign that baseball salaries are ascending to new levels of ridiculousness, the Phillies agreed to a 2-year, $16 million contract with a vesting option for 2016 with the 36-year-old outfielder.

Yes, Byrd had a nice year with the Mets and Pirates, but the odds of him duplicating it at age 37 are not great. But I guess the Phillies figured he’s going to be better than Delmon Young, and Byrd is younger than Raul Ibanez.

Hunter Pence‘s five-year, $90 million contract extension with the San Francisco Giants is starting to look a bit less like an aberration… who knows, maybe Scott Boras can get a Jayson Werth-type deal for Shin-Soo Choo after all. There are not a lot of power-hitting corner outfielders on the market, and they seem to be in demand.

That’s not good news for a team like the Mets that really could use an upgrade in both corner outfield spots, and has fairly limited resources to work with.

Hopefully Sandy Alderson will not be left looking at options like Manny Ramirez in his quest to add power to the Mets’ lineup.