Pirates trade rumors: Bucs reportedly interested in Marlon Byrd

Jon Morosi writes that, in addition to Antonio Bastardo, the Pirates are interested in Marlon Byrd. This is, perhaps, a little weird, unless the Pirates believe Starling Marte is going to be out for awhile. They clearly already have a perfectly good outfield, and I don't think Gregory Polanco is going anywhere, so if the Bucs were to reacquire Byrd, it would be primarily as a bench piece.

It would be great to have Byrd coming off the Pirates' bench, but that would make much more sense if he were a rental, and he isn't. He's signed through 2015 with a reasonable club option for 2016. Coupled with his strong play this season, that should make him a valuable commodity as a trade piece. Maybe the flip side of that is that the Pirates could deal for Byrd and then trade him again in the offseason. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro isn't much of a judge of talent, either, so maybe the Bucs could get away with not giving up very much.

That all seems pretty speculative, though. Byrd remains a very good player, and I'd love to have him back with the Pirates. He just seems like an odd fit for them right now, for the same reasons he was a bit of an odd fit last offseason.