Phillies trade Marlon Byrd to the Reds for pitching prospect Ben Lively

Outfielder Marlon Byrd is once again the word on the trade market, as the Phillies dealt the 37-year old outfielder to the Cincinnati Reds today. In exchange, the Phillies will reportedly receive 22-year old pitching prospect Ben Lively and there may be other players going to Philadelphia as well. The Reds will also get "significant cash" in the deal from the Phillies, according to Ken Rosenthal.

After resurrecting his career in 2013 with the Mets, the veteran outfielder Byrd inked a two-year contract with the Phillies last offseason and put up another strong season, hitting .264/.312/.445 with 25 home runs and 28 doubles. Playing nearly every day for a bad Phillies team, Byrd was a 2.6 win player according to Baseball Reference and should provide some pop while playing in hitter friendly Great American Ballpark. Byrd is owed $8 million in 2015 and has a vesting option for 2016 at the same amount.

Heading to the Phillies is righthander Ben Lively, a 4th round pick by the Reds in the 2013 draft out of the University of Central Florida. Lively has breezed through the Reds system in his first exposure to pro ball, splitting 2014 between High-A Bakersfield in the California League and Double-A Penascola of the Southern League. Overall, Lively made 26 starts between the two levels, putting up a 3.04 ERA in 151 innings with 171 strikeouts, while walking 52 batters. According to MLB Pipeline, Lively ranked as the Reds 8th best prospect and John Sickels wrote last June that he could be a big league starter.