Why the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves Pursuing Marlon Byrd Is a Bad Idea

The Chicago Cubs are looking to dump Marlon Byrd and the $6.5 million that they owe him in 2012. The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals have both emerged as viable candidates to land Byrd.

The Nationals have been linked to Byrd since December, but never pulled the trigger for the 34-year-old outfielder and for good reason.

Washington will likely call up Bryce Harper sometime in June, making Byrd a $6.5 million bust. With Michael Morse and Jayson Werth in the outfield already, there will be too many guys trying to play three positions.

Gorden Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chicago Cubs are looking to acquire pitching in exchange for Byrd. 

Both the Braves and Nationals have good young bullpens that can not afford to be weakened by trading for an aging veteran.

Byrd is not worth the risk for either team at this point in his career. The Braves and Nationals will be looking to get to the top of the NL East with their pitching. The last thing either team needs to do is compromise their teams by giving away talented, young arms.

You can follow me on Twitter @NargOnSports.