Over the past few years Bryan Reynolds’ name has come up frequently in trade talks, but as of yet no move has materialized. There’s no indication such a move will come to fruition anytime soon either, but the Pirates’ star is sure to be a regular name on the rumor mill again this winter. Indeed, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported earlier this month that Reynolds was a popular name among GMs, but that a trade was considered unlikely.
There’s a reason Reynolds has been the target of a number of teams, he’s an elite switch-hitting outfielder, who’s shown strong power, on-base and contact skills and is under team control for three more seasons with a team in the midst of a lengthy rebuild. On the flip side, the Pirates, it seems, believe that rebuild will be complete within the next three years, so they don’t feel any need to move him. That’s not to say they wouldn’t trade him if the right offer came along, but it does mean they can set a high asking price and wait and see if any team is willing to meet it.
The Pirates are coming off a second-straight 100-loss season, but they are seeing a number of their top prospects make their way to the upper minors and big leagues. Oneil Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes are young building blocks, while the likes of Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis, Liover Peguero, Quinn Priester and Michael Burrows aren’t too far away. There’s no guarantee that core can form a competitive team with Reynolds in the next few years, and Pittsburgh’s spending history suggests there’s little chance of them keeping Reynolds once he reaches free agency. As such, there’s solid arguments to be made for and against the Pirates trading their star this winter.
Reynolds, 28 in January, has amassed 12.5 fWAR since bursting onto the scene in 2019. Acquired from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade, Reynolds was called up a few weeks into the 2019 campaign and never looked back. That year, he hit .314/.377/.503 with 16 home runs in 134 games, good for fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Pete Alonso, Mike Soroka and Fernando Tatis Jr.
He struggled mightily in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, posting a sub-.200 batting average and a wRC+ of just 71. That season proved to be an aberration, as Reynolds returned to his best in 2021, slashing .302/.390/.522 with 24 home runs in 159 games, earning his first trip to the All Star game and finishing 11th in NL MVP voting. The key that season was a significant drop in strikeouts, as Reynolds easily posted a career best mark of 18.4%, down nine percent from a year earlier.
2022 saw an uptick in strikeouts as Reynolds punched out 23% of the time. He wound up with a .262/.345/.461 line with 27 home runs and a 125 wRC+, so it was still a very productive season but down from his best years. It’s possible Reynolds sacrificed a bit of contact for an increase in power (he hit three more home runs in 32 fewer plate appearances), but it’s also worth noting that his BABIP dropped 39 points from ’22 to ’21, and his batting average dropped an almost identical 40 points.
Defensively, Reynolds has received mixed reviews for his work in center field (10 Outs Above Average in ’21 against -7 in ’22) which is where he’s spent most of his career in Pittsburgh, but has tended to grade out much better in left field.
Reynolds is owed $6.5MM in the second year of a two-year deal signed last winter. He’ll then have two further years of arbitration remaining, before reaching free agency at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
So who could be interested? Let’s take a look at a handful of teams that could pursue Pittsburgh’s outfielder this winter, and how their farm system is looking.
- Red Sox: Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported that the Red Sox’ have expressed interest in Reynolds as they seek a left-handed hitting outfielder. The Red Sox currently have Alex Verdugo, Kike Hernandez and Rob Refsnyder in the outfield, with Jarren Duran as their fourth option. Baseball America ranked Boston’s farm system as the 11th best in baseball, with Marcelo Mayer, Triston Casas, Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela featuring in the top 100 overall. Both Bello and Casas have MLB experience now, but Pittsburgh would surely want any trade to start with one of those four names.
- Yankees: The Yankees have been linked with Reynolds at various points over the past few years, and their outfield is expected to be an area of focus again this winter. Even if they re-sign Aaron Judge they may well seek a left field upgrade, but if they lose Judge the Yankees will be under pressure to make a big splash. Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza and Jasson Dominguez are the big names on the Yankees’ farm, while the Pirates may have interest in Austin Wells as a long-term first base option.
- Marlins: The Marlins have long had interest in Reynolds, and they’re again likely to be looking for outfield additions this winter. They currently have Jon Berti, Avisail Garcia and Bryan De La Cruz in their outfield. BA ranks them 20th best in the game, with Eury Perez, one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, headlining it. Max Meyer is recovering from Tommy John surgery while Jacob Berry is the other top 100 prospect. BA notes that the system lacks depth behind the top guys so a deal may be hard to come by, but if Miami was willing to dangle Perez it’d certainly catch Pittsburgh’s attention.
- Mariners: Seattle is another team that’s had previous interest in Reynolds. Julio Rodriguez is locked in at center and the team just acquired Teoscar Hernandez to play right, but the team could look to move on from Jarred Kelenic in left. Their farm system has already taken a big hit following a series of win-now trades by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, but the likes of Emerson Hancock and Harry Ford are exciting prospects, and Pittsburgh would possibly be interested in trying to unlock Kelenic’s potential.
Of course, these are just four possible options and any number of teams could be interested in a player of Reynolds’ quality. Pittsburgh will certainly have a steep asking price, but perhaps a team will blow them away with an offer this winter.
Pirates: Keep asking for the moon, the stars and a couple planets to be named later for Reynolds. Eventually you’ll get it.
And they should be.
Jock – If I’m Bloom I wouldn’t give up any of my Top 4 prospects for Reynolds as he’s been way too inconsistent over the years, and a 39-point drop in BABIP doesn’t justify his OPS going from .912 to .807
By the way, I’d really like to borrow the newbie’s 1981 DeLorean.
“his BABIP dropped 39 points from ’22 to ’21”
@Fever Pitch- OPS is down league wide from the previous season by 22 points which helps to explain some of the drop. Obviously, there is always going to be some flux in that year to year. Things simply aren’t as clean as never deviating above or below fifty points from the previous season. It’s normal in baseball.
Also, his lowered BABIP implies misfortune and not lack of ability as his average ext velo and hardhit% are both up from the previous season. You can find what I am saying very easily on baseball savant.
You are mistaken in your estimation of Reynolds.
On the other hand, SCM, a survey of his 2022 Statcast ratings shows only his maximum exit velocity as truly elite. His Barrel % is as middling as it gets.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/bryan-reynold…
Several Yankee fans have been lobbying for years to get Reynolds, and I’d be glad if Cashman got him at a reasonable price, but I can’t say I wouldn’t be worried. Note what others have already noted here: the inconsistency. Look particulary at his expected BA and expected wOBA from year to year.
And in the Bronx there’s always this added concern: can he handle the pressure? I used to doubt the reality behind that concern, but the Joey Gallo saga made me a believer.
I have no idea how Reynolds would perform under New York’s mass-media microscope and the relentless gaze of the ruthlessly (no pun intended) demanding fans at Yankee Stadium. He has no postseason record, so the biggest stage he’s been on might’ve been an All-Star Game, a tiny sample in a meaningless game that tells me nothing. Pittsburgh is a lovely little town with a beautiful stadium, but it ain’t New York.
Yet his production speaks for itself. Apparently you only need to be elite in one thing and good to very good I’m other things for Hangers overall production. Also, not all those stats have something to do with the aspect of Hangers game that I was discussing such as arm strength.
Lastly, I don’t buy that significantly more difficult market to play in line of thinking. I have no doubt players may prefer this city or that but it’s far to simple to look at a players flagging numbers and simply decide he can’t handle playing here or there. That is used far to often as an explanation.
Gallo went from a 138 OPS+ and 4.2 bWAR with Texas in the first half of 2021 to a 93 OPS+ and 0.5 bWAR in the Bronx. In his second season with the Yankees, he sank to a 79 OPS+ and 0.0 bWAR.
The decline even showed up in the field, where he’d won a Gold Glove in right field with Texas the previous season (and another in 2021 despite his struggles in New York). He went from 13 DRS and 6 OAA in right field with Texas to -1 DRS and 0 OAA in right field in New York in 2021. I take all fielding metrics with a grain of salt, but I watched all his games too, and I saw some surprisingly sub-par play from Joey, particularly on throws.
After he left, he said the pressure bothered him, and I believe him.
@ Floyd, Gallo has once in 8 seasons hit above .210 going .253. So him striking put alot and hitting for low average was expected. Reynolds has hit better than Gallo s best season in 3 of his 3 seasons 2 of them going above .300. And he has done so in a lineup with little protection. Put him in a real lineup and he ll likely flourish.
They believed Gallo’s HR production and OBP would compensate for the strikeouts. But his OBP plummeted too.
My point wasn’t to compare Gallo and Reynolds as players. They’re very different. I only brought up Gallo as a recent and glaring example of the effect of pressure on some players who come to the Bronx. He’s not the only player to have talked about it.
Reynolds might have no problem dealing with it. Most don’t seem to. Some, in fact, rise to a new level when they become Yankees.
Just saying, I have no way of knowing what kind of player Reynolds is when it comes to dealing with a media barrage and sometimes merciless fans (a minority of the fans, but a loud one).
I’m pretty sure of this though: Reynolds would’ve been a much better fit in the Bronx than Gallo in the past two years. That Cashman added yet another high-strikeout home run hitter made little sense.
Yeah, but check out his xWOBALONEY. It’s off the charts.
Or eventually they won’t.
Which wouldn’t be the end of the world either.
But how else will they get prospects to trade away when they’re still terrible 5 years later?
I don’t understand Pirates fans, though I’m a lifelong one myself
Trading Reynolds now for a handful of prospects puts the team another several years behind from being contenders again
I repeat Reynolds is not getting traded. Why they keep printing this, is asinine. Pirate, Pittsburgh fans in general aren’t bright. I’m a lifetime Pittsburgh sports fan. Just like dulac of the post gazette says they should bench Pickett. I remember in the mid to late 60s people were saying to trade Clemente to the Washington senators. The reasoning was their attendance was down and they needed star power.
The reason it keeps coming up is that the chances that he stays when he reaches FA are small, making the chances that he is traded before that large.
@Bubba, Reynolds has not been receptive to singing an extension early like Hayes did. It’s pretty clear he is planning on testing market when he hits free agency. As far as Clemente, the two situations are in no way comparable free agency was not even an option for players during Clemente’s career.
the pirates are not one or two bats, nor one or two pitchers away from making playoffs, let alone winning a ship. trade him, while said prospects would all come up (roughly) together, hopefully. which is the name of the game. what use is reynolds on a 100-80 loss team? if they win 20 more games next year, they still are sub 500 in a very strong division.
apparently you don’t know Bob Nutting, the owner of the Pirates
He deliberately leaves top prospects in the minors to delay their super 2 status
They waited to bring up Cruz until the season was 3/4 over, they sent Suwinsky back to the minors only to bring him back with only weeks left in the season.
Saving on arbitrations or salaries is the only goal he has
You’re 100% right, Thome. Problem is, it’s a never ending cycle here. Any good player is a target and it all begins again
Cruz had a 102 wRC+ in AAA, it’s not like he was killing it.
@theMan 3
Most teams leave top prospects in the minors to delay Super 2
Also, they didn’t bring Cruz up when 3/4 the season was already over.
I think they may have left Cruz down a bit longer, but he started ice cold so it is somewhat reasonable to say prove you deserve to be promoted. Regarding Suwinski, he deserved to be sent down amidst a horrendous hitting stretch and needed a re-start. To be honest, I am not sure they should have brought him back up even when they did.
Reynolds alone is not going to change contender status by several years. He was a 2.9fWAR player this year, that’s above average, but we’re not talking prime Trout type of difference maker.
Eventually what you end up with is a Manny Machado type haul that looks great on paper but in reality doesn’t work out. Of the 5 players the Orioles recieved only Dean Kremer has had any impact on the MLB team and that impact has been a 9-15 record and an ERA of 4.5 in 38 starts.
Reynolds would be a nice addition to whoever gets him (as a Left Fielder, not a Center Fielder) but not the cost of 3 or 4 top tier prospects
” a Manny Machado type haul”
Too bad there wasn’t an Outfielder traded by Pirates, to use as a better comparison than Machado. Oh wait, theres the Andrew McCutchen trade, and who did Pitt get back? — Bryan Reynolds, who took over McCutchen’s place. I’d say Pitt does pretty good in their trades.
Lets not confuse the idea that Reynolds was a stud prospect when the Giants included him in the McCutchen deal after the ’17 season. He wasn’t even a top 100 ranked prospect and the Giants farm wasn’t exactly great at the time either.
The Glaznow- Meadows trade for Chris Archer begs to differ
That just shows that the Pirates saw something in him that other teams did not. That is much better than just reading names off someone else’s list.
Teams pay no attention to top 100 lists, for good reason. There are all-stars that never were, and plenty of busts that were.
Reynolds put up really good numbers in the minors. He had an .868 OPS in Low A, a .793 OPS in a small sample at A-Ball, and was having an .826 OPS season in High A when traded.
The only red flags were more SOs than one would like, but he still had very good OBP, and SLG numbers.
Rsox: Doesnt that speaks volumes about the Pitt scouting department. Still a better comparison than Machado trade in so many aspects.
Maybe. But it depends which they valued more at the time of the trade: Reynolds, Kyle Crick, or the international slot money they received
Really? Look at Glasnow and Meadows’ numbers. A few average seasons from both. All three (Glasnow, Meadows and Baz) are walking wounded.
Not that lopsided of a trade in retrospect.
Wait, what? Glasnow alone has been more valuable.
McCutchen was a BUST for Giants
tigw, Gross exaggeration, McCutheon’s numbers were down a bit from his time in Pitt, but he still posted a 115 OPS+ with 15 HRs in 130 games. Slightly disappointing, but hardly a bust.
Machado was traded with 2 months + playoffs left of team control. He was never going to get a haul of top tier prospects. The return at the time and the development of those players reflects that it was quantity > quality.
dshires4, Exactly right. This belief that the Giants could have gotten a haul for Rodon, or Bumgarner from a few seasons ago, but foolishly refused, defies logic. Impending FAs, just don’t bring back more than the comp pick.
orioles have crappy evaluation i dk. cleveland would of knocked it out the park, so would of tampa, houston, etc.
Reynolds won’t be traded unless they get 3 or 4 first rate prospects which basically means that they want to keep him for a couple of more years.
They will trade him with a year left as they have done with everyone else for many many years.It is the way that they operate.Only before NH would get young ML players or near ready players. But BC realized that he needed many good young players in return since the collapse in the second half of 2019 dictated a different approach to return to contention.
Any long term Pirate fan should realize this if they are looking at this in a truthful and realistic manner.
Ask the Seattle Mariners and mitch Haniger how that can turn out. The Braves allegedly offered Max Fried, Austin Riley and a couple of other prospects for Haniger in Dec 2018 and they turned that down.
I had a dream last night that I woke up and seen that Reynolds was traded to Miami. The return was awful. Instead just a click bait article with absolutely no new news or rumors.
And the Bucs should count they’re blessings to get one top prospect, and a mid level prospect(15-20) for Reynolds who did not have a great year last season.
I believe 3 teams said there asking price was too high. Rumors of asking for Julio Rodriguez and other top prospects if true is insane. I wouldn’t have traded Julio alone for him. I think a top 20 prospect that isn’t a top 5 or 10 maybe with a few upside far away kids is reasonable. Or 2 top 50 guys. Or even 2 top 100 with some other quantity. Problem is 3 years of control. It’s worth a lot and if a team isn’t willing to pay then they can wait until his control is less and still get a not as good but close enough return.
This guy would be a perfect fit in the OF for the Jays. However the Jays top trade pieces are catchers and I doubt the Pirates want a catcher with top draft pick Henry Davis on the horizon.
If the Bucs were interested in trading Reynolds, they wouldn’t have signed Carlos Santana
Reynolds is still under control for 3 more years
I am almost wondering if someone is ghost writing under your name. Carlos Santana? This is your sign that the organization is serious about contending, about mixing in some strong veterans to go with their elite crop of young players?
Nothing surprises me about Nutting and his puppet anymore, and trading Reynolds for even more prospects wouldn’t be a shock
“Two years from being two years away”. The never-ending rebuilding process
My concern with trading Reynolds now for prospects is that it would take us another couple years before they are in contention and they’re closer to now
By then, Cruz is eligible for arbitration and would end up himself being traded, and the other young players we have now also getting traded if they don’t contend
I may have come across as supporter of signing Santana, but it’s already done, nothing I or you, Dude say, can reverse the deal
So I’m looking for the best of the situation
pirates lost 100 games last year?
yes and in 2020, too
They didn’t play 100 total games in 2020. How could they have lost 100 games then?
They were THAT BAD, Dorothy!
I kid.
Another contrarian. They lost 100 or more this year and last year. They lost 93 in ‘19. 2020 was COVID-shortened, where they lost 41 and had a winning percentage of .317
I think TheMan 3’s point was understood by most baseball fans
The Pirates have lost at least 100 games three years in a row.Anyone who thinks that they would not have done so at their rate of 111 loses in 2020 with their worst team is delusional.
If anything I see they spent money on Santana and they can dump money by dealing Reynolds. That’s how they think
What does one have to do with the other exactly?
How in the world does signing Santana for one year impact whether or not they trade Reynolds?
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s hopeless. This charade will go on and on as long as Nutting is the owner. He could bring in literally the best GM and manager in MLB and it wouldn’t matter. They’d have their marching orders
That there are those who actually believe that somehow, a “competitive” team will emerge from this train wreck is disturbing
That is 100% true
Exactly. They had a perfect storm in 13-15. This is a bottom feeding organization that’s only good at lying. They might not even be good at that anymore.
Belle.
Not again fre5hwind haha
What the? How in the world would you not put down the Jays as a team that would be ultra-interested here?
My thoughts exactly. Perfect fit, right down to the Cherington connection.
Is there a team out there who wouldn’t be interested? Keep in mind, teams could acquire then flip, like Minny did with IFK. The front office realm of baseball is more competitive today than ever
How are the Blue Jays not mentioned in this??? They need a left handed center fielder is the worst way.
You don’t want Reynolds patrolling CF in the Rogers Centre.
Reynolds shouldn’t be playing CF now, he is only because the Bucs don’t have anyone else. He’s a good LF and mediocre CF who is only going to decline there.
Don’t see Yanks going after Reynolds, the asking price is way too high! The Bucs need to win some of these trades or a least break even. Right now they are just spinning their wheels.
Slider, guessing here, but a scenario would be if Judge signs elsewhere, and then the Yankees pivot and sign Correa or Turner and want to add an OF bat. Signing a SS frees them to deal from their SS prospect depth as a piece of the package, but you’re correct, the price will be high. Better to raise their offer for Judge than lose him and then strip their farm.
Yankees acting as if players actually want to go there. Turner and Correa won’t be wearing pinstripes and as judge rides off into the sunset the ghost of George Steinbrenner blows a gasket.
Do you contradict much?
What trades did they lose? I must have missed them. The Bell trade wasn’t impressive but he was a inconsistent dh and they dumped some money.
Reynolds is a really interesting discussion. Much like Murphy of Oak, you’re giving up a lot of top-end farm talent for a very productive guy at his position.
He also adds a little speed and a switch-hitting bat to the lineup, which would help immensely to lengthen their lineup, same as Murphy. In defense, he would probably be one of the better LF defenders too.
The problem is that you could give up the future for him now. Or, you could have another prospect fail at the Majors and forfeit another chance at an above-average player. If what they say about Volpe is true, it’s not worth it to me. But that’s a BIG if.
You really need to know your prospects. Not many teams do. I wouldn’t trade anyone I felt will be an all star.
Ahhhhh…..the yearly Bryan Reynolds trade rumors, a sure sign that the off season has officially begun. What took you so long?
There has been a strange lack of Jo Adell rumors, so I’m not convinced the offseason is here yet.
god bless u
More like weekly. At least they usually have new rumors. This is like a boring book “The complete history of Bryan Reynolds trade rumors”
No!!!!!!!!!!!!
This and Wheeler for Beltran, worst most recent trades from the giants.
The Wheeler trade was no near as bad as the Reynolds trade. Beltran was the top trade chip available, with several teams wanting him. With all the interest and several bidders the cost was going to be high. No one could anticipate him getting injured, but in the 44 games he did play he was excellent, posting a 159 OPS+. At the time, more people complained about not re-signing Beltran than trading away Wheeler.
As it is, what the Mets got in Wheeler was underwhelming. They had him for 7 seasons, but he missed 2 of those to TJS. He posted a league average 100 ERA+ for the other 5 years.
Had they kept Wheeler, Giants fans would have been complaining about him not reaching his potential. The Mets gave up on him, and let him walk, which is probably what the Giants would have done as well.
It wasn’t until 10 seasons after the Giants traded him that he finally became the ace that he is now. Evidence that no one saw what he would become in Philly is his $23.6M AAV. Were he a FA now, with those numbers he’s had in Philly, that AAV would be much higher.
Don’t forget the Liriano and Nathan for Pierzynski deal. The lesson is that if you want a good shot at a prospect working out successfully, trade with the Giants.
The Casey McGehee trade was far worse. He was a GIDP machine and SF traded Luis Castillo to the Marlins as a lottery ticket. It’s hard to call the Marlins winners of that one, because they flipped him to the Reds.
to the Reds for the immortal Dan F****ing Straily
The Marlins should get knocked twice since before the Reds trade, they sent Castillo to the Padres for Colin Rea. Luckily for them Preller cheats so they got a do over.
Trade Reynolds for a first baseman.
Lol! Good one!
Dominguez and Wells for Reynolds who says no? It’s a steep ask.
No chance the Pirates would accept that. Rumors were that they were asking the Padres for Abrams+Gore++ when both were rated in the top 20 prospects in the majors..I doubt they’d do that deal even if Volpe was included.
@tippin- well then Reynolds isn’t going to the Yankees then. The Yankees would definitely give up an Austin Wells or a Trey Sweeney in a package, but there’s no way their giving up Jasson Dominguez for him though.
Those two would be secondary pieces. Trading for Reynolds should feel painful, and that deal is not painful.
Yankees say no.
Myles Straw, Aaron Civale, Bryan Rocchio., Hunter Gaddes from the Guardians gets Reynolds
Except the Guardians hate paying players almost as much as the Pirates.
No, that package, with only 1 decent prospect, wouldn’t get Reynolds. Not even close.
@Windowpane, correct. That’s a quantity deal, not a quality deal.
The Pirates need to decide if they’re contenders in the next couple seasons, or pretenders. If the latter, they should look at getting as much as they can for Reynolds. Three years of control should bring a quality and quantity package. Another option, one I’m sure they’re exploring, is signing him to a long-term deal. That way he can be part of the next contending Pirates team.
Yeah everyone in Cleveland thought trading Lindor for basically Rosario and Gimenez was a quantity for quality deal, but they snookered the Mets
I like Reynolds a lot, but “elite” is not a word that should be used for him. Very good player who could bring back a couple of nice prospects for sure.
Pirate fans like myself and TiredDude are sick of their better than average players being traded for prospects that are still several years away
This leads to perpetual regression and constant rebuilding
We haven’t been to the WS since 1979, only 6 play off appearances in 43 years and an owner who views his profit margins over putting a competitive team on the field
Trading Reynolds for prospects is exactly what would happen
elite, in comparison to baltimore and pittsburgh recent cast members.
A Reynolds-Bednar package should be the Jays top preference, imo.
Reynolds has 3 years of control, Bednar has 4
The only way they’d group them together in a trade would be for top tier players, and not necessarily prospects either
I can imagine a premium ready now prospect like Moreno being a good starting point but with reliever prices now, I’m not sure I see enough value available in the Jays’ system to be able to make a deal for both. Pittsburgh would be better off making it separate trades. I thought Moreno might have enough value to leverage Bednar into a trade for Reynolds at one point, but not anymore. If Suarez and Montero are worth their multi year deals, I’d be surprised if Toronto could find the right pieces.
Plus as much as Bednar has been my favourite trade target for the Jays for the last year, I’m kind of done with trading for relievers. They have a bunch of internal candidates with interesting enough traits, it’s time to develop one of them into a good major leaguer.
The Pirates are one of the teams who probably aren’t that interested in the Blue Jays catchers. They have a couple elite catching prospects everyone knows about Henry Davis but Endy is there catcher of the future he is very good defensively and he tore through high A and Double A this year finished hot in AAA he’s an elite prospect as a catcher. I don’t think Toronto matches up very well.
1 year left on current contract… OPS down over 100 points… average down 40 points….strikeouts up…. Not worth giving up top prospects.
Good thing you’re not a GM. It’s not like there are Allstar caliber players just grow on trees. Pointing to K’s and average as a sign to not acquire a player is such an odd approach. His OPS was still over .800. Also he is on a terrible offensive team so I would pitch around him as much as possible too. Probably tried to do too much leading to more K’s and less walks. He’s probably a mixture of 2021 and 2022. Almost any team gets better by getting him of he were traded.
Also you missed the part in the article that he has 3 more years of control (1 year on his arb contract he signed) and isn’t a FA until after 2025
It’s not just K’s and Strikeouts…… Almost every single stat went down significantly. Funny how you mention walking… he only walked 56 times last year….down from 75 the year before. They aren’t pitching around him. Even his WAR is less than half of 2021. Do think his value is as strong as last year?
Admittedly, I was wrong about the contract – was looking at his 2 year arb contract. As a Sox fan, I am not trading any of the 4 guys mentioned for him. Another GM can open up the cuboard for him.
Mayer and Bello I can understand not wanting to part with so I get your point but I would rank Bleis over any of them besides Mayer. Casas is a 1B only and can fairly easily be replaced even by a guy like Devers. I’m not a Sox fan but I don’t think their team is in a position to compete compared to the other teams in the division unless they spend $$$. Specially if Xander leaves so in my opinion I agree in the sense they shouldn’t be on this list. They have a couple years to regroup and let some of the young guys get to the majors. They might prove me wrong but there are a lot of holes and uncertainty.
pitching around him should raise his obp, so his how do his walks go down in this situation?
Yeah I didn’t completely think that thought through but if he’s trying to do too much and swings at borderline pitches trying to create offense can see how that would happen. He did K more like suggested that he might have been selling out for more power.
Since when is pointing to strike outs going up an odd approach to be hesitant on acquiring a player?
It is for a player that the numbers are in line with their previous years and it’s low 20%. We’re not talking about a Joey Gallo type player who has significant strikeout numbers and the number jumps another 5% or a player that’s on the other side of 30.
putting your top power and rbi guy in the #2 hole didn’t exactly help the team.
Batting Hayes both lead off and cleanup wasn’t exactly a run scoring bonanza either
Reynolds does better batting 3rd with Hayes batting second
Every player on last year’s team struggled. Was it all the players fault or could it be from poor management and even worse hitting coaches?
Gee, maybe it was MLB messing with the baseball?
Trade with Dodgers, Pirates get Ryan Pepiot -P
James Outman -OF; Emmet Sheehan -P; Jorbit Vivas – IF.
Dodgers get, Bryan Reynolds – CF and one of either pitcher Colin Selby or Jared Triolo.
So you want the Dodgers not to get Reynolds? Got it.
oh, this is legitimate, it’s clear this is a news article from the future boys.
Wait too long and this could become a Matthew Boyd situation.
You’re expecting him to get injured? Or are you expecting lowball offers for him?
Kelenic, Hancock, Zack Deloach and Lazaro Montes. And Justus Sheffield too. Why not. Pretty fair package of 2 high end prospects, a ready outfielder, and filler.
Kelenic doesn’t have value unless your people seen something and believe they can out develop Seattle. Mariners likely traded the pieces for Reynolds to Cincinnati or are starting them.
I wonder if getting rid of the shift favors a switch-hitter more than a single-sided hitter?
offensive numbers should climb in 2023, across the board. if guardians can recapture the offensive magic from last season, those numbers rising, seems like a juggernaut to me. kwan, oscar, are locked in my opinion, so reynolds isn’t really a fit, i can’t see guardians saying “f’ defense.” so cleveland, though i would thoroughly enjoy shuffling and making rosters, it’s probably best straw is slotted in, hopefully he can turn it around a bit offensively.
It favors any player who hits into the shift and can’t go the other way enough.
Reynolds is a perfect fit for the Braves, but I don’t think they have the prospects to get him. Their farm is pretty thin right now. Plus, they’d need to off-load Rosario.
Reading about Reynolds trade rumours reminds me of watching Ancient Aliens…..
Some facts, some fluff, some insanity, end result:
next show
Part of me wonders how all this stuff affects the player and his family mentally? I get it, it’s a business, a job blah blah…
But most of us wonder looking in the mirror where we fit in our companies, our future and pretty much none of us has the ability to read about in the national media..
(questioning aside, guess I would trade spots….)
Rogers, Eders, Bleday and Watson should bring Reynolds to Miami.
The Giants have the prospects to get Reynolds after Judge
Hmm, more i think about it, hope the Jays do not make a significant trade for Reynolds. Best options for the Jays:
1. I would like them to sign Bellinger for CF and Keirmeir for their 4th OF. Then make a trade for Happ to play LF from the Cubs. The trade would not include Moreno or Kirk. They then package Gurriel and Kirk in a package for a good nr2-nr3 type starter.
2. Package Moreno in a deal with the DBacks for Corbin Carrol. Deal may be bigger than just the two of them, but those are the two main pieces.
3. Approach the Padres on a deal for Trent Grisham that could include Kirk in a bigger overall deal for both teams.
Anyone have any ideas beyond that? Just not that enamored with Reynolds as a CF.
Moreno doesn’t equal Corbin. Like it’s not even close. A 20-20 player and plays CF with premium defense for a catcher that doesn’t have power even though he makes contact just isn’t equal no matter what you package together. Corbin is like the one of a handful of guys I think in all of baseball currently prospect wise that isn’t getting traded at all. Grisham could be had for way less than Kirk. Kirk could bring back a solid pitcher though. Keirmeir is probably wanting an opportunity at a starting job so it’s either Bellinger or him but doubt both. Will also add that Reynolds is probably best suited for LF.
Pretty sure you can only trade Kirk once.
Grisham and Reynolds are both free agents after 2025. If the Pirates trade Reynolds they wouldn’t want Grisham. Or probably anyone who can be arb eligible next offseason.
It says a lot about the Pirates that someone as perfectly solid as Reynolds is their Golden Ticket Player.
They’re in a lose-lose situation: They don’t have the overall team make up or organization depth to flip Reynolds for pieces that will put them into contention, just another bunch of lottery ticket prospects and 99% of lottery tickets yield zilch while less than 1% stand a chance at a significant pay off even if they do win- like prospects.
Aren’t the Pirates owned by people with plenty of money to spend if they felt like it? Is the issue the overall vibe of the Pirates? The uniforms? The stadium? The name? Etc.
Seems like they’re worse than they’ve ever been and they’re getting worse every year after being a formidable team in the 70’s and an average team in the 80’s…
Maybe it’s time for the team to be sold and completely revamped? New Stadium, New Uniforms, New Name, a few really crazy expensive free agents on top of whatever in house player development has succeeded with guys like Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes, etc.
I can’t think of a club in more need of a complete tear down and rebuild from the ground up- ownership, roster configuration, roster budget, everything- and the guys on the team who are good either need to form that new core or be shipped off and sold for parts and then the teams restarted from nothing.
What was the last expansion team and how did that team get developed from nothing into an organization with good, valuable players who could compete and got paid top dollar? The 90’s Diamondbacks? How did that work?
Bob Nutting bought the team for $97 million and the franchise is now worth about $1.3 billion according to Forbes
Several weathy businessmen have offered to buy the franchise, one being Pittsburgh native Mark Cuban. Nutting wasn’t interested and why would he be?
He makes an average profit of $45 million.
Yet he conveniently forgets that it was the Pennsylvania taxpayers that footed the bill to construct PNC Park and to add insult to injury, the state has tried to audit the spending of the franchise, to no avail
First off, Cuban never offered to buy the Pirates. I’m sure you can find the interview the PG did with him online somewhere. He did however say that Nutting would be a fool to sell, as he is making a great deal of profit within the MLB format
Quite simply, wins and being competitive have little to do with his profit margins and amazingly enough, neither does attendance
Trillionaire, you need to understand those dynamics *and* the fact that PNC Park was built with taxpayer funding. Like most modern ballparks, it is surrounded by bars, restaurants and shops whose livelihoods are dictated by crowds that are coming out to see the Pirates. These businesses have become collateral damage, forgotten and ignored by ownership and local political figures who promised a boon to the business community. I can’t imagine what their books have looked like over the past few years and it’s no wonder many shops have opened and subsequently closed in short order
It’s a sick joke from a carpetbagger of an owner
The Pirates are adept at marketing We’re flooded with notes about how the pipeline is full of can’t miss stars that will propel the franchise in years to come. That may be true but that potential hasn’t nearly translated yet
I look at signings like Choi and Santana as crumbs for fans and MLB brass, to provide the impression they are *trying* to win. We can expect more of such scrap to placate those true believers and MLB but this franchise isn’t going to win anytime soon and most disappointing, Nutting doesn’t care
I suspect is a big deal came his way, he’s ship Reynolds, too. He’s not a superstar but the closest thing to a real major leaguer we have
Where did you find that he made $45m/yr in profit?
Where did you find that he made $45m/yr in profit?
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$45M isn’t exactly raking it in. Everyone in here would expect to make a profit on whatever business they invest in. Even if Nutting were to surrender 100% of his profit, and no one in here would, that would still only get him judge + a #5 SP.
The owner is one of the poorest. His main wealth is the pirates. Next is from owning newspaper companies. Not like owners are spending their own money anyways. He is a cheap awful owner though. A smarter more competitive owner would do wonders.
So you want to get rid of a historic brand name pirates thats been around for over 100 years and the stadium that is considered a top 5 by any sensible person and their best asset for attendance?
They don’t have the overall team make up or organization depth to flip Reynolds for pieces that will put them into contention, just another bunch of lottery ticket prospects and 99% of lottery tickets yield zilch
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That doesn’t make much sense to me.
They won’t be in contention next year with or without Reynolds. So does that mean they should do nothing, even if presented with a good offer? You can only improve one move at a time.
And are you including Volpe in your 99% thing, cause I am pretty sure I would take the 99/1 odds that he becomes a good player.
New baseball park???? PNC is the best in baseball. New uniforms???? New name????
What a dumb post
How many times has this article on Reynolds been written and re-written in the past six months?
14 times.
How are the Jays not mentioned? This is easily the most valuable outfielder the Jays could acquire outside of free agency
You took the words right out of my fingertips. The Jays’ need for a lefty hitter (preferably a CF) is much greater than that of their more media-centric division rivals. And, of course, a switch-hitter satisfies the need for a lefty hitter.
They will put them in for next weeks Reynolds article.
Reynolds is going anywhere. The Pirates have a chance to compete in the NL central this year. While the team isn’t quite ready to compete overall, that’s just how bad the NL central is. The winner of that division very well could finish under .500 this year with the reduced amount of games they have to play each other.
The cardinals won 93 games and you think that will be .500 record because they will play harder teams? And then you think the Pirates will win twenty more games because they also will play harder teams? I don’t see the Pirates picking up thirty games because the schedule is different.
No they’re not!
I’m not saying they should btw… though as a met fan I’d love to have him 😉
So the pirates don’t plan on competing over the next 3 years in the NL Central ? MLB needs to start putting ownership of teams who don’t even try to compete on some sort of probation.
Why aren’t they planning on competing? Is one player and that player being Reynolds going to be the difference maker who they couldn’t possibly replace? Have you heard anything from the pirates about activity trying to trade him? I only heard of teams contacting them and them only open to trade him for a so called ridiculous price.
Hehe. Cleveland has a couple of lefty AAA rubes who can play center. Benson and Brennan. Maybe we can cook something up.
Gleyber, Deivi Garcia, Peraza and IKF for Reynolds. Who says no? No one
Pirates do. They aren’t interested in arbitration players.
I see some value there, but if PT is set on Cruz at SS, then neither Pereza nor IKF are fits. I think the package has to start with Volpe+ or Dominguez++
I hope the Pirates hang on to him. They won’t get equal value for him and Pirate fans deserve to have one decent player in their line up.
If Pirates trade Reynolds, better be for a number 1 pitcher that has MLB experience already with success and 3 years of team control. Not a bunch of prospects, a MLB ready number 1 pitcher who will be an ace for a few years or compete with Keller as an ace until we see more of what Priester will be like. I wouldn’t settle for anything less if he was traded today. Ace type pitcher with 2-3 prospects or Ace type with near ready top OF prospect. Nothing less.
What 1 ace with 3 years of control has been traded for a corner outfielder weak cf of Reynolds skill base? What do players similar to Reynolds get paid as free agents? What do ace pitchers get paid? See where I am going here?
This is just another of those easy-write columns that isn’t even a story, but MLB Trade Rumors knows it’ll receive plenty of comments, which is all it’s looking for to impress advertisers.
The same article could be written about virtually any player (actually, I think it is). Just replace the name “Brian Reynolds” with another MLB player’s name, and voila! Instant “story” for fans to debate and comment on.
The title could just as easily be “Trade Candidate: Austin Slater” or “Trade Candidate: Trent Grisham” or “Trade Candidate: (toss dart and insert player’s name here)”.
I’m not knocking Reynolds, Slater, Grisham, or any other player, or saying teams wouldn’t be interested in trading for them. I’m just saying this seems like practically a non-story.
I’d like to think baseball writers have more “inside information” to write about, but that appears to be expecting a bit too much.
Some folks on here need to simplify their look at Reynolds. This or that number may have dropped from one year to the next, but he plays for THE PIRATES! At any given time they had 5 players in their lineup with a sub .200 BA. What could Reynold do with protection in the lineup or someone with a decent on base pct. In front of him?
A reasonable observation, MAC.
Reynolds has been mentioned in about a zillion trade rumors since 2019. If the Pirates aren’t gonna be contenders for a few more years, they should capitalize on Reynolds value right now. His resume, coupled with two more years of team control, make him the idea acquisition for any of the “win-now” teams.
He’s a perfect fit for the Braves opening in LF, and they have the young pitching to get the deal done. One of those elite arms and a Grissom should get it done. And never count out the Padres They have needs in the outfield and still have youngsters with potential to offer up in return?
If the Cherington rebuild is going to ‘succeed” they need more prospects than they have now.
Factoring in attrition, the current group isn’t nearly enough.
Adding another top 5 and top 40 pick to the system PLUS trading Reynolds (assuming they can get a haul) is their only hope to achieving that critical mass of talent a small market team needs if it wants to pretend it’s going to compete.
I don’t think Reynolds is a superstar but he is the Pirates only legitimate all-star, even after a somewhat disappointing 2022
I don’t know he’d bring the haul some here hope he would
That said, where does it end? At what point does the oblivion express of rebuilds end?
You say the current group isn’t enough. I would only add that they have not performed as advertised. After 2022, it’s hard to fathom anyone thinking this group will be competitive anytime soon.
You write of attrition but we’re told there’s another large wave of players almost ready to hit the majors. Pitchers, catchers, middle infielders and outfielders. What will they look like?
So in your line of thinking, you trade your only all star and with it, your HR and RBI leader and the only guy who doesn’t strike out a great deal. And in doing so, you start another rebuilding process as they try to identify where the homers and rbi will come from
By the time they figure it out, it’ll be time to trade THAT player for more prospects in a couple years and rebuild again
It never ends in this town
Three options…
1) Trade him for a few more prospects to add to the pile and hope it’s enough.
2) Keep him in the hopes that the team is competitive by the time his walk year hits and get one season from him before he leaves as a UFA.
3) Extend him for 7 or more years so he’s actually here when they are competitive.
2 makes zero sense to me. 1 and 3 do, but I assume 3 isn’t on the table because Nutting.
Reynolds is not getting traded
Guy posted before that the pirates should start all over. New stadium, new team name, new uniforms.
Worst post I’ve ever seen
yup Reynolds would take the moon at this point. If he had a year left would be much less but he doesn’t. at the end of the season we saw more of what we expected in Reynolds.
It should take multiple top prospects if you are going for quality over quantity and depending on the prospects them selves as well..
Right now I see it more likely there is an extension than a trade but his current salary is also setup for an easy trade. Maybe that is just my hope lol