Would I rather have vintage Corey Hart? Yes. Is he likely to show up? Can't count on it. Even if he does .. he won't be in the OF.
Montero at DH if Hart doesn't get on track? Yes. But again, no OF.
There is a need for a RH bat who can play OF. In addition to whoever is DH.
Byrd seems to be the least-bad option in that regard. The Phillies have no real use for him. Their old guys aren't going to magically get better in 2015.
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You can't play both Hart and Montero at DH anyway. So you have to pick one, whether you have Byrd or not.
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The eternal Safeco conundrum: do you invest in RH hitting even though it might bust, or do you try to avoid RH hitting altogether?
I think they've gone wrong both ways. Beltre and Sexson were supposed to save the team. That's the wrong way to use RH power in Safeco. Byrd wouldn't be that. Cano and Seager are the guts of this lineup.
Then Blengino led them to use all glove guys and LH/SH high-OBP guys -- Endy Chavez as corner OF -- and that didn't work either, Safeco or no.
So I think you need RH power in Safeco -- not to carry the offense but to enhance it. Byrd would be another Zunino in the lineup. Revived Hart or revived Montero would be another. But we need someone like that in the OF so we're not just sending Chavez out there, or hoping for Cole Gillespie to pan out.
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Zunino has 6 HR at Safeco and a .185 ISO at Safeco.
Is there a reason Byrd couldn't do that?
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Is it a weak move? Sure, maybe. But not making a move for a RH OF at all is weaker. There are guys I'd rather have, but Byrd ought to be gettable at a reasonable price.
And I don't think getting Byrd precludes Zobrist or any other move. Get 'em both. But make sure that someone is a RH-hitting OF.
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