Outfielder Byrd could fill power void for Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have missed the postseason in each of the past two seasons after winning five consecutive National League East titles. But they’re not ready to concede that their window for contending has shut.

The Phillies made the first major player move of the offseason Tuesday when they agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd on a two- year, $ 16 million contract.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. would not confirm the signing during the general managers’ meetings at the J. W. Marriott Grande Lakes, but two people familiar with the agreement told USA TODAY Sports that a deal had been struck.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because Byrd had not passed a physical examination.

Byrd gives the Phillies a muchneeded right- handed power hitter. He hit a combined .291 with 24 home runs and 88 RBI in 147 games last season for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was 8- for- 22 (. 364) with two doubles and a home run in six postseason games with Pittsburgh.

Byrd likely will play right field and bat fifth behind slugging first baseman Ryan Howard.

“We’ve got some holes to fill, and obviously we’re coming off a poor year,” said Amaro, whose team went 73- 89, its worst record since 2000.

While Amaro would not discuss Byrd directly, he did acknowledge a power bat would help.

“I think it would help balance our club as we were short offensively last year and we might be playing a young player at third base,” Amaro said.

The Phillies averaged 3.77 runs a game last season, which ranked 13th in the NL and 26th in the major leagues.

Byrd had the best season of his 12year career and is 36.

The Phillies hope he can come close to duplicating his 2013 numbers in 2014 while they also get healthy seasons from Howard and center fielder Ben Revere along with expected improvement from third baseman Cody Asche.

Howard has been limited to 151 games over the last two seasons because of a series of leg injuries. He has hit .244 with 25 home runs in that span. Revere batted .305 with 22 steals in 2013 as the leadoff man after being acquired from the Minnesota Twins, but his season ended after 88 games because of a broken foot.

Asche hit .235 with five homers in 50 games as a rookie after going deep 15 times in 104 games at Class AAA Lehigh Valley ( Allentown, Pa.).

“Those guys can all be key elements for us,” Amaro said. “We’ve got some holes to fill with the pitching, too, both in the bullpen and with the starters. Some we might be able to fill internally, and some we might have to go outside the organization to fill.”

The internal options to fill out the rotation after Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Kyle Kendrick are Cuban righthander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, who was signed to a three- year, $ 12 million contract in August after defecting from Cuba, and right- hander Jonathan Pettibone, who was 5- 4 with a 4.04 ERA in 18 starts as a rookie.

“We need to make the right moves,” Amaro said. “If we do, I feel we can put a very competitive ballclub on the field.”