Phillies avoided arbitration with OF John Mayberry by agreeing to a one-year, $1.5875 million contract. Mayberry had been eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason. He's coming off a disappointing .227/.286/.391 season and will open 2014 as a backup, but the Phillies gave no thought to non-tendering him.

Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phillies are seeking an upgrade over outfielder John Mayberry, Jr. Despite tendering Mayberry a contract, the Phillies are still searching for a fourth outfielder to usurp the role currently held by Mayberry. Specifically, manager Ryne Sandberg wants "a right-handed bat" and "defense with depth at center field". While Mayberry technically qualifies under both criteria, his OPS has declined in two straight seasons and his defense is subpar, particularly in center.

The Phillies have tendered a contract to outfielder John Mayberry. Some speculated that Mayberry could be non-tendered following the signing of Marlon Byrd, but GM Ruben Amaro kept his word and will retain the outfielder. Mayberry is coming off a disappointing .227/.286/.391 batting line in 134 games this past season, but he's proved useful in the past, particularly against left-handed pitching. The Phillies will also tender contracts to Kyle Kendrick, Ben Revere and Antonio Bastardo.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday that he plans to tender a contract to John Mayberry. Mayberry posted a disappointing .227/.286/.391 batting line in 134 games this past season, but the Phillies still like his power potential and he shouldn't be that expensive. The 29-year-old outfielder is arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career.

John Mayberry swatted his 11th homer of the season on Saturday, helping to propel the Phillies to a 5-4 victory over the Nationals. Mayberry finished the night 2-for-4. He got the Phillies on the board with a no-doubter to left-center off Gio Gonzalez in the fifth inning, evening the score at 1-1. He's failed to live up to expectations for the most part this season, slashing just .230/.292/.401 with 11 homers and 39 RBI in 339 at-bats.

John Mayberry Jr. hit a three-run homer Monday in the Phillies' 5-4 victory over the Rockies. Mayberry was just 6-for-40 this month before taking Jeff Manship deep tonight. He's gotten more playing time that he's deserved as a result of Delmon Young's struggles and Ben Revere's injury this year, but he hasn't done a whole lot with it; he's batting .242 with nine homers in 274 at-bats. Barring a big finish, he could be non-tendered this winter.

John Mayberry went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and a pair of steals in Monday's loss to the Padres. Mayberry, who has been getting more time off recently, hadn't registered a hit in more than a week prior to the game. The steals are obviously an outlier, as Mayberry entered the game with three on the season and 10 for his career. The 29-year-old is now batting .262/.316/.445 with five homers through 164 at-bats.

John Mayberry hit a walk-off grand slam -- his second homer of the night -- as the Phillies beat the Marlins 7-3 on Tuesday. Mayberry didn't even start the game, entering as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. But trailing by a run in the bottom of the 10th, Mayberry took Steve Cishek deep to prolong the game and ended it with the two-out blast in the 11th. The home runs gave the reserve outfielder four on the year to go with 14 RBI.

John Mayberry has started 13 of the last 14 games. Even more notable is that he's started four of the last five games in center field. Part of that is because Ben Revere has been a little banged up, but the Phillies are also looking to get Mayberry more starts in center with Revere struggling at the plate. Mayberry is hitting only .232/.321/.449 with a pair of homers himself, but he should continue to see plenty of playing time, especially against lefties, even with Delmon Young back.

John Mayberry is starting in right field Monday against Braves' right-hander Tim Hudson. Laynce Nix would have been the choice if Phillies manager Charlie Manuel were going with a straight platoon, but obviously that's not the plan. The skipper will rotate the players in and out of the lineup based on matchups, the type of opposing pitcher and recent performances. For what it's worth, Mayberry has hit .308 in 17 plate appearances against Hudson.