Byrd discusses departure from Reds

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Reds' series vs. the Giants this week is the first time the club has faced outfielder Marlon Byrd since his Aug. 20 trade to San Francisco.

There have been multiple reports since the trade that Byrd clashed with bench coach Jay Bell the night before the trade because he wanted to come off the bench and pinch-hit in a game vs. the Royals.

"I didn't have a spat with Jay Bell," Byrd said Tuesday. "I had a conversation with the manager [Bryan Price] about Jay Bell. We had conversations all year about him. If you want to know more about it, you'd have to talk to him."

Through Reds media relations, Bell declined to discuss any incidents or issues with Byrd.

Byrd was asked if he parted on good terms with the Reds.

"With who? The organization, the team, or what? I think I did. You'd have to ask them, I'm not really sure," Byrd said. "I know my teammates loved me. That's all that matters to me."

The Reds acquired Byrd from the Phillies in a Dec. 31 trade for pitching prospect Ben Lively to be an offensive boost from left field. Byrd got off to a slow start but finished his short tenure in Cincinnati with a .237 average, 19 home runs and 42 RBIs in 96 games.

Byrd had 485 plate appearances entering Tuesday and has an $8.5 million option that automatically vests if he reaches 550 plate appearances. The 38-year-old said he hasn't looked to see if he has a shot to reach the vesting number, but noted he's happy with the Giants and wouldn't mind staying.

"It's a good group, a good organization. I'm enjoying myself over here with these guys," Byrd said. "They're very professional. I loved my teammates in Cincinnati. I think that was easy to see with me being over there. With these guys, they loved me and accepted me very quickly. It made it an easy transition."

• Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton remains day to day with a sore right shoulder after exiting Monday's 5-3 loss in the fifth inning. Hamilton could be limited to pinch-running duties in the near future.

• The Reds rotation could soon undergo some changes for the final couple of weeks of the season. Michael Lorenzen, who pitches Wednesday, could be making his final start as he nears his innings limit. Raisel Iglesias is approaching his limit and Keyvius Sampson has struggled in recent starts.

"We'll probably have a reshuffling of the deck going into and coming out of that Milwaukee and St. Louis series," Price said. "We want to make sure we're on the same page before we announce anything."