ORLANDO, Fla. Toronto Raptors Jerseys . -- Marlon Byrd cashed in on his comeback season. Byrd and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed Tuesday to a $16 million, two-year contract, a deal that came less than a year after he was playing in Mexicos winter league. The 36-year-old outfielder hit a career-high 24 homers last season for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh, which acquired him on Aug. 27. He batted .364 with one homer and five RBIs in six playoff games after hitting .291 during the season with 88 RBIs, one short of his career best. "Marlon adds a significant upgrade both offensively and defensively to our outfield," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. "He has been particularly productive against left-handed pitching, which was a serious challenge for us this past season." Byrd was drafted by the Phillies and began his big league career in Philadelphia. His agreement calls for $8 million in each of the next two seasons and includes an $8 million team option for 2016, The option would become guaranteed if he has 1,100 at-bats in the next two seasons, including at least 550 in 2015, or 600 at-bats in 2015. "If you dont want to give up your first-round pick, Marlon Byrd is arguably the best available outfield bat," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "We feared he was out of our price range immediately. We stayed engaged in the process, and Marlon and his agents talked about wanting to come back to Pittsburgh. He loved his time there. The environment and playing for a winner and playing in front of that fan base was something that really intrigued him." A career .280 hitter with 106 homers and 533 RBIs, Byrd was released by Boston in June 2012, then given a 50-game suspension 11 days later following a positive test for Tamoxifen, which can reduce side effects of steroid use and increase testosterone. At the time, Byrd said he mistakenly used the medication for a recurrence of a condition that earlier required surgery. He says he did not use it for performance enhancement. He played winter ball for the Tomateros de Culiacan (Culiacan Tomato Growers) and signed a minor league contract with the Mets on Feb. 1. He wound up on their big league roster for a base salary of $700,000 and earned another $100,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. Both the dollars and the years offered by the Phillies were at a level the Pirates were unprepared to match in talks with agents Sam and Seth Levinson. "The timing really bit us, and Ruben did a great job of going out and getting his guy early -- what we did with Russ Martin a year ago," Huntington said. "We werent in a position to be able to move this quickly." Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said the deal was an indication of inflation in free-agent prices. "Had you asked me the question three or four months ago, I might have been surprised, but not in the light of whats happened since the end of the season," he said. "There havent been that many signings, but this one is consistent with the others." Philadelphia had sought a right-handed hitting outfielder with power since Jayson Werth left for Washington following the 2010 season. Ben Francisco, John Mayberry Jr. and Delmon Young werent solutions; Hunter Pence was acquired in July 2011 and traded a year later. Darin Ruf hit 14 homers in 251 at-bats last season while starting 27 games in right field, 15 in left and 28 at first base. But Ruf, a converted first baseman, is hardly the defensive player Byrd is and is viewed as a role player. Philadelphias outfielders hit .259 with 57 homers and a .407 slugging percentage this year. Byrd could be a major upgrade. "He is an experienced middle-of-the-order hitter who creates some balance to our lineup," Amaro said. "With his talent and clubhouse presence, we believe Marlon will be a solid addition to our club as we address our needs and plan to contend in 2014 and beyond." Byrd was once a prized prospect in the Phillies minor league system. He finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2003 after hitting .303, but struggled the next two seasons and was traded to Washington. Byrd has also played for Texas, the Chicago Cubs and Boston in a 12-year career with seven teams. He was an NL All-Star with the Cubs in 2010 and his best season before last year came with the Rangers in 2009 when he batted .283 with 20 homers and 89 RBIs. Marc Gasol Raptors Jersey . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie. OG Anunoby Raptors Jersey .Mihajlovic was sent off minutes from the end of Thursdays 2-0 win over Brescia and has been punished for using a disrespectful expression toward the fourth official and throwing the contents of a bottle of water at him, thus assuming an intimidating attitude. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Tracy-Mcgrady-Jersey/ .com) - The Toronto Raptors are paying Rudy Gay a visit on Wednesday night when they head into the Sleep Train Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings.TORONTO - As the Toronto Maple Leafs returned from a winless Western Conference road trip, they found the friendly confines of Air Canada Centre to be not so welcoming.A few fans threw jerseys onto the ice, a couple wore bags over their heads and many more voiced their displeasure by booing. In the game itself, it was much more of the same as the Leafs were thoroughly outclassed by the lowly Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-1 loss Monday night.It was Torontos fifth loss in a row with just two goals to show for 300 minutes of hockey.Its a similar answer that weve been saying for now the past five games: We havent found a way to put pucks in the net, captain Dion Phaneuf said. The bottom line is that we had our chances and were having a tough time putting the puck in the net. Thats very evident.The only thing that kept the Leafs (22-22-3) from being shut out for the fourth time in five games was a power-play goal by Nazem Kadri in the third period. That ended a goal drought of 162 minutes 14 seconds.Before that point, they fell behind by three thanks to goals by Brad Malone, Elias Lindholm and Eric Staal. Interim coach Peter Horachek tried to convince his players to get back at it after falling behind, but it was hard to shake the feeling.I get the sense like theres a big letdown, Horachek said.Carolina (16-25-5) capitalized, chasing goaltender Jonathan Bernier with three goals on 13 shots. Anton Khudobin stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced as the Hurricanes improved to 6-2-1 since the calendar flipped to 2015.We werent perfect, though we played hard and we competed, first-year coach Bill Peters said. Back-to-back wins on the road for the first time for us this year, so things are going in the right direction.Things appear to be going in the wrong direction for the Leafs, who are 1-6-0 under Horachek and have lost 13 of 16 dating to the inconsistencies that cost Randy Carlyle his job. Horachek has tried to instill a tough, defensive mentality, but his team has been outscored 24-9 since he took over.And though the Leafs overall defensive play may have improved, the results arent there.When you give up that many chances and you win hockey games (earlier in the season), sometimes that comes back to haunt you, said Phaneuf, who fought Eric Staal in the second period. And right now were just having a tough time on the other side of the puck because weve cut down our chances against but we hhavent been able to put the puck in the net. Pascal Siakam Jersey. Unable to find a happy medium between defensive responsibility and offensive power, the Leafs again fell into the trap of trying to sacrifice one for the other. Horachek said his team cheated too often after falling behind.By the time the Leafs were down 3-0 in the second period, one fan threw a jersey onto the ice. We dont appreciate that, obviously, winger Phil Kessel said. Were trying. I dont know if people see that. We are trying. I dont know. We cant find it right now.When the Leafs were trying and even had possession of the puck, another jersey came flying.I dont know how that happens or what security or the ushers are doing, Kadri said. It seems like were giving the guy an extra couple minutes to flip everybody off and to mock our real fans. I dont know how that guys not taken by his shirt and dragged out of there, but what do I know.Frustration was evident throughout the game, even from the Hurricanes. Eric Staal, who got into only his second career NHL fight with Phaneuf after the Leafs captain hit brother Jordan, wound up and fired a slap shot from close range into an empty net to seal it.Staal seemed intent to either let the puck drill Phaneuf or the net.I was ready, Staal said. One of those plays where you just react and youre into the emotion of the game, youre into the energy and I knew I wanted to get it in so I made sure I got a hold of it.Staal scored more goals Monday night than Leafs forwards have in the past five games. This latest loss was just more strife in a season that has gone bad quickly.We didnt play our best tonight, Kessel said. We had good spurts in there, we had some chances and its not good enough.Notes — Kadris goal snapped Carolinas streak of consecutive penalties killed at 36, which dated to Dec. 21 against the Rangers. Peters said it was an opportunity to start a new streak. ... Leafs backup James Reimer stopped all 18 shots he faced in relief and could start Wednesday at Ottawa in the final game before the all-star break. ... Forwards Leo Komarov (shoulder) and Troy Bodie (healthy) and defenceman Stephane Robidas (upper-body injury) were scratches for the Leafs. Matt Frattin made his eighth appearance of the season in Bodies place. ... Winger Alexander Semin and former Leafs defenceman John-Michael Liles were healthy scratches for Carolina.___Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '