At the end of spring training 1978, the Blue Jays assigned Byrd to their AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. He complained to the press when he was sent down to Triple-A that his minor league salary was less than what he could make doing construction work. At Syracuse, Byrd had a disastrous time of it, making seven starts and posting a 0-3 record and an ERA of 8.13. When the Blue Jays decided to further demote Bryd to Double-A after his poor start in Syracuse, he abruptly left the Blue Jays organization and—proving his point about his minimal minor league baseball salary—spent the rest of the year working at a construction site.