The Royals have been looking for outfield upgrades for years and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that they have interest in Bryan Reynolds of the Pirates, though Rosenthal adds that talks haven’t yet gained momentum and Kansas City is also interested in other hitters.
Reynolds, 30, has been one of the faces of the Pirates for years. As the club has struggled to win, he has been one of their few consistently strong performers. Just over two years ago, they signed him to a seven-year, $100MM extension, the largest guarantee the franchise has ever given out.
Despite his status with the club, it appears he is at least somewhat available. The Pirates are 38-50 and nine games out of a playoff spot, putting them clearly in seller position. Recent reporting indicated that they will have very few off-limits players in trade talks this month, with Paul Skenes and Andrew McCutchen reportedly the only players who will be truly off the table.
Willingness to discuss a trade doesn’t mean it will actually happen but picking up the phone suggests a non-zero chance. Reynolds is now into his 30s and his performance has dipped a bit this year. He has a line of .237/.301/.393 on the season, which translates to a wRC+ of 90. He came into this year with a career line of .276/.352/.470 line and a 121 wRC+. He’s never been an especially strong defender, so he needs to hit to provide value.
It’s possible the baseball gods are responsible for the dip. Reynolds came into this year with a career .328 batting average on balls in play but he has just a .295 BABIP this season. That’s despite the fact that his batted-ball metrics have actually improved. His 49.1% hard hit rate, 91.8 mile-per-hour exit velocity and 11.5% barrel rate are all career highs.
It makes for a tricky calculus for the Pirates. As mentioned, Reynolds is an esteemed member of the franchise and has been signed to the largest contract in franchise history. Trading that deal barely two years after it was signed would surely be a bad public relations move at a time when the fan base is already unhappy. From a pure baseball perspective, it would also be tricky. Moving Reynolds now could be a bit of a sell-low move since his surface-level stats are down but the numbers under the hood look fine.
On the other hand, the Pirates always have a tight budget and the Reynolds deal still has five years and $76MM remaining after this year, including the buyout on a 2031 club option. There will be about $4MM left of this year’s $12MM salary at the end of July, meaning there would be about $80MM in total left to be paid out at the deadline. With a lack of sellers this year, perhaps the Bucs are dreaming about moving on from a big chunk of change owed to an aging player while they have the chance, perhaps getting something useful back in return.
But of course, that would require some club to have faith in Reynolds bouncing back from this year’s swoon. It’s possible clubs have some skepticism around that. If Reynolds were declared a free agent today, he probably wouldn’t get an $80MM deal, which arguably makes the deal underwater. The Pirates could eat some money in the deal to improve the return but that could exacerbate the P.R. issue. Not only would they be trading away the largest deal in franchise history after a short amount of time, but they would be paying Reynolds to play elsewhere.
For the Royals, as mentioned, their outfield has been an ongoing problem. Kyle Isbel and Drew Waters lead the team in plate appearances from the outfield spots this year but each has a wRC+ of 66. A two-year deal for Hunter Renfroe was a dud and he has been released. Jac Caglianone is getting his first taste of major league playing time but hasn’t got into a groove yet. The MJ Melendez experiment went on for years before he got sent to the minors.
That’s been a big part of the club’s top-heavy offense. Last year, they were able to succeed thanks to an outstanding season from Bobby Witt Jr., along with some decent contributions from Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino, but the lineup was otherwise lackluster. This year, Witt is still quite good but not quite at last year’s pace. Perez has fallen off more significantly. A big surge from Maikel Garcia has compensated for those dips somewhat, but it’s still a lineup with a number of holes.
The club has a collective .243/.298/.364 line and 81 wRC+, production that is worse than every big league club apart from the White Sox and Rockies. They have still managed to hang in contention thanks to their pitching but are 5.5 games out of a playoff spot at the moment. Providing a jolt to the lineup would surely improve their chances of making gains in the race.
Though the Royals spend a bit more money than the Pirates, they’re not exactly top dogs in that department. Witt’s extension is the only deal in their franchise history larger than the $100MM that the Pirates gave to Reynolds. Taking on $80MM as part of a midseason deal would be no small matter.
Perhaps they view that as an opportunity that is normally not available to them. As Rosenthal points out, they were connected to Anthony Santander this winter, but he ultimately signed with the Blue Jays. That was technically a five-year, $92.5MM deal but it’s actually worth about $70MM when factoring in deferrals. The Royals also had reported interest in Jurickson Profar, who signed with Atlanta on a three-year, $42MM deal. Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but those two and Reynolds are all switch-hitters.
After struggling to find free agents willing to take their money, perhaps they view this as a chance to get around that problem. Reynolds doesn’t have a full no-trade clause but does have the ability to block trades to six teams. It’s unknown if the Royals are one of the six on his list. But as mentioned, the $80MM has to be a factor. That’s more than what Profar and Santander got, when considering the deferrals. If the Royals didn’t have the money to finish those kinds of deals in the winter, do they have it now?
Turning back to Pittsburgh, it’s not as though they are so overflowing with bats that they can flippantly discard them. The main reason they are in seller position this year is because of their tepid offense, as their pitching is actually quite good. That largely seems to be the case going forward as well, since they have an enviable collection of young arms but a lack of impact bats. They don’t have a qualified hitter with a wRC+ above 112 this year. 38-year-old McCutchen is the only one with a wRC+ higher than 102. Reynolds is scuffling a bit this year but he’s still one of the better bats in the lineup and trading him would deal a huge blow to their future offense.
It’s a very interesting fit in many ways. The Royals have clearly tried to get a player like Reynolds for years, so it’s understandable they would have interest. But would they be able to make it work financially? The Pirates naturally have to consider ways to make the most of this lost season. But the front office in Pittsburgh would have to also consider the P.R. hit and the downgrade to next year’s offense. They surely want to contend in 2026 and their pitching makes that possible, but the lineup is already bad and would get worse without Reynolds in it.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Might as well fold the franchise if the Pirates trade him away already.
Depends what they could get for him. He’s turning 31 and looks to be regressing hard. But I do understand the sentiment in that they have the cheapest owner in the game.
@RodBecksBurnerAccount
When the buc’s play in a AAA stadium by choice, then they have the cheapest owner.
I guess you’re talking about Fisher? Nutting arguably still cheaper.
PNC Park has been determined to be one of the nicest stadiums in baseball.
Apparently you have never been to the stadium before and enjoy talking out of your rear end
The tax payers of Allegheny County ($147 million) and state of Pennsylvania ($75 million) primarily paid for PNC lol. The Pirates organization (not Nutting himself) only attributed $40 million.
Also, the last multi-year free agent contract the Pirates signed was in 2016.
TheMan: pretty sure he was taking a shot at the A’s playing in Sacrament, not at PNC Park. PNC is beautiful.
@TheMan3
He’s referring to Fisher (owner for the Athletics) having the A’s play in a literal AAA stadium. He’s not calling PNC a minor league stadium.
But Fisher signed Severino to a 3 year contrac this offseaon (the Pirates haven’t signed a multi-year free agent contract since 2016).
You know nothing about baseball especially stadiums. Say whatever you want about the pirates lol but their ball park is considered one of if not the nicest stadiums out there. Get a clue son!!
then why did he mention the Bucs?
Reading isn’t your strong suit is it? He’s saying when, as in IF the day ever comes Nutting decides to play in a minor league stadium by choice–as the A’s are doing right now–THEN he will be cheapest owner. But until that hypothetical day comes, the A’s are cheapest according to NoSaint
@TheMan 3: This is a good exercise in reading comprehension, but I will spell it out for you:
Commenter “RodBecksBurnerAccount” said “I do understand the sentiment in that [the Pirates] have the cheapest owner in the game.”
By way or retort, commenter “NoSaint” said “When the buc’s play in a AAA stadium by choice, then they have the cheapest owner.” indicating that they think the title of cheapest owner should go to Fisher of the A’s, who play in a AAA stadium. This comment is basically saying “At least the Pirates play in an MLB stadium.”
@RodBecksBurnerAccount
Thank you for understanding who I was talking about. Apparently my comment was too nuanced?
@greatwhiteangus
Of course I’m talking about Fisher.
Boy you are stupid! Beautiful ballpark,A’s are in minor league park.
@Dice 66
Stupid you say. Go on…
@RodBecksBurnerAccount I believe the only reason Fisher signed him was because the players union were going to file something because the team had signed nobody as of then? Not entirely sure of the details.
He was spending money to avoid a grievance, yes. I’m sure he was also spending to show good faith to potential investors in Las Vegas as well. He still signed him regardless of the reasons. Again, the Pirates haven’t signed a multi-year free agent in 9 years.
@RodBecksBurnerAccount It is amazing that they have not signed one since then. I am a Reds fan and I thought we had it bad here, but man, I feel sorry for my fellow fans of a cheapskate owner. At least the Reds do sign mutil year contracts albeit those have mostly been busts like Candelerio recently.
@MeowMeow
The irony is that I deliberately added “by choice” to distinguish between the situation the Rays are in to avoid confusion.. LOL
Rod-Nutting does not in general sign free agents for more than one year as you know.
They also have not had a good team in nine years.
He prefers to extend his own players which he does fairly regularly,then consider trading them when they get expensive unless they are performing extremely well.
One of the only things about baseball that he knows is that small market teams need to draft and develop well to very well to at least have a chance to make and go deep into the playoffs.
The Pirates have drafted OK under Cherington and the pitching is deep and very very good but the development of the position players and hitting have clearly not kept up.
Nutting is a businessman first and foremost and he wants the $40-60M spending money that he gets every year which matches a 4% annual return on the current value of his investment.
They were on a downward slope under Huntington and have bottomed out in wins under Cherington until he finally wised up after over five years and fired Shelton who was in over his head.
I think that if they continue to play very well under Kelly who Nutting likes you will see more spending in order to take advantage of Skenes.
I just hope that Cherington does not screw it up.
And,oh by the way, the last contract was Liriano,who was an excellent pitcher 2012-2015,but who stunk in 2016,and was unloaded half way through the year and his contract saving the Pirates $20M.
There is more in depth knowledge perhaps for those of us who are unbiased but follow the Pirates closely.
What multi year free agent should they have signed? Those are also the least effective way to spend $
He was talking about the A’s
Think you misunderstood the comment – he’s saying Fisher is the cheapest owner and the AAA park in question is the one the A’s are playing in by choice.
he doesn’t turn 31 until next year and KC doesn’t have anyone close to being a major league ready player to replace Reynolds
Cherington’s job is on the line, he doesn’t want prospects
Reynolds is just a guy. That’s exactly who you trade away. I already traded him years ago along with Bednar.
And he isn’t regressing hard at all. I’m sure he will regress as he ages like everyone but not yet.
Reynolds already foiled their plans with his poor play and now his tenure is at a wrap.
He’s not the same player and he’s locked up for several years. Pirates should be looking to trade him if they can retain just a little bit of salary
Don’t do it Royals
💯 and that usually means they will. Hard pass
Dont worry, the Royals don’t have anything the Bucs want
6 game win streak. Just need another 10 in a row and we’re right back in the hunt.
I know you are joking but that would probably be the worst thing for the Pirates. If they are somehow close to .500 at trade deadline and they hold onto players that won’t be here next year to make a “push” it would be a waste. Players like IKF need to be traded and anyone else on an expiring contract. The Pirates are hot right now but will cool off and probably lose close to 100 games.
Every player on a one year contract will be traded
I think that they are clearly better under Kelly.
If so,that tells you how bad Shelton was.
I hate to say it but they do need to trade the three free agents but I really hope that they do not trade Keller unless they get at least one solid ML position starter for him.
Also,don’t give away any of IKF,Frazier,or Heaney like he gave away Marte and Bell.
Trading them would open a door for Simon or Williams,Suwinski or Canerio,and Yorke.It would also open up the 40 man roster spots.
Unfortunately, Keller is the only asset that can return a bat that will help in 2026. We know Bob is not gonna spend on an FA who’s still in their prime. So Keller and the $38 mill Bucs owe him thru 2027 has to go. Besides, Keller would probably appreciate being in a pennant race for once.
Yeah it would be ashame if they don’t get those amazing prospects 2 month rentals bring back and we would miss seeing more player development failure.
If teams just give these guys away who are playing well then they get what they deserve which are the Carter Bins of the world.
As a Rockies fan, it could be worse. You could need another 35 wins in a row after that 16 before you are back in it.
Isn’t that why they brought Clint Hurdle back? Ha.
danodea
Anything is possible in baseball. Has their recent streak been a fluke. This Seattle series will be a big test.
Now or never to move Reynolds. Unfortunately, he’s getting older and Pittsburgh a few years away if the front office doesn’t trade off the good young pitchers they have.
“But the front office in Pittsburgh would have to also consider the P.R. hit and the downgrade to next year’s offense.”
I think you and Tim already said it best on the podcast, short of trading Skenes: what PR?
.301 OBP geez
Good thing teams won’t even be looking at that.
The emotional reaction of the small Pirate fanbase to a potential trade of Bryan Reynolds should have ZERO influence on the team’s consideration of offers for Reynolds.
Basing roster decisions on the feelings of the fans (many of whom, in Pittsburgh, will moan about any transaction the team makes) is a recipe f0r disaster.
@RJarz – Fan bases everywhere kvetch and moan about things that they don’t understand at all – it is simply human nature. In good times and bad, give them just a bit of something negative and the sky is falling.
What appears on social media, however, is much worse than the actual reality when it comes to the % of entitled, arrogant and thoroughly off-base commentary. The Dunning Krugerites are represented to a far greater degree than if you include all of the fans that are not tweeting, twitching and comments sectioning for much of the day.
I feel for Pirates fans, but would trade Reynolds for anything approaching value as I suspect that his decline will be precipitous. It is hard to see many good solutions there until Nutting is gone.
@CA,
Working the Dunning-Kruger effect into an MLBTR comment – nicely done.
Yes that was a brilliant insertion!!!
I agree that, when comes to fans moaning about teams, what appears on social media is much worse than what does not appear on social media.
Pirate management should make any trade that they believe makes the team better, regardless of what the fans reaction might be..
The fans wailed when the Pirates traded McCutchen for Reynolds.
“If you worry about what the fans think, you will end up sitting with them.”
A quote from a past baseball exec, can’t remember who off the top of my head. But so true.
@CarverAndrews
Post up voted for use of kvetch. Mazel tov!
You take those feelings into account but they can’t make decisions for you.
—If the Pirates can unload 5/75m for a 30 yo in significant decline, they should do it. Are the Royals run badly enough to cooperate?
If you can’t afford the Reynolds contract, you shouldn’t own a Major League baseball team. It is an absolute embarrassment to the sport that Nutting is allowed to continue in this role. He is profiting off the franchise.
Should every owner not profit off of their franchise? What are they in business for if not to make some money?
No, they shouldn’t. I’m not saying they should absorb financial losses to field a team, but money that fans spend on a team should go back into a team; no one is going to change my mind on that. These owners already sell their franchises for 2x or more of what they paid, often AFTER getting taxpayer dollars to fund new stadiums.
In ’23, the Pirates received 100m dollars in revenue sharing while they ran a payroll of 75m. I realize there are more expenses than just player payroll, but where is the rest of that money going, along with the actual income they made?
the pennsylvania taxpayers funded the construction of PNC Park which opened in 2001.
We deserve a competitive team every year, not just a few every now and then
Yup. But thanks to Bob it just ain’t happnin
Struggling to find where anyone says the can’t afford it. Not wanting to pay it and not able to afford it are different. Regardless Nutting stinks, but they can totally afford it and that’s WHY he stinks.
Nutting owns a team in an historically bad market for baseball which did not support the team well even when it was one of the very best teams in Major League Baseball.
At the same time nutting isnt doing any favors for the Pittsburgh fan base by doing what he’s doing
Unless the athletics or rays owner owned the pirates I don’t think they could have gotten a worse owner than nutting
you make that same argument in every article about the Bucs, Richard
PNC Park’s capacity is 38000
people .
Multiply that times 81 games and the annual attendance is .3 million
It’s not a stadium that holds 50,000 fans
Bucs didn’t sell out Three Rivers either. The team rarely averaged 20k fans then. It’s Steelers country.
The attendance during the 2013-2015 seasons set the franchise records for a season with 2,4 million fans
In 2015, the Pirates went to the postseason for the third straight year and won the second most games in MLB. Their attendance, which was their highest in team history, was Ninth of Fifteen MLB teams and was lower than that of the Brewers, who had a 68-94 record and play in a metro market that is 900,000 people smaller than Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is an historically bad market for baseball.
I post that fact whenever I see people moaning about the Pirate payroll because it is the legitimate justification for the Pirates low payroll.
Rod bigmouth insulted me for my lack of reading comprehension skills which was in fact just a misunderstanding of my point but this is truly an example of ignorance
PNC doesn’t have the capacity for high attendance figures.
It’s been repeated multiple times but you can’t seem to understand these facts
8th smallest park capacity
4th smallest market
15th in MLB attendance in the year you cited (2015)
I like my statistics better.
bucs-He continually cites the Brewers too but they are the only small market team that is almost continually in the upper half of ML attendance.
All others are like the Pirates and get into that group only during the years that they are extremely competitive as playoff teams.
He picks and chooses what stats he uses.
All owners are profiting from their teams, I mean that’s the goal right? I think you mean to say that Nutting ONLY cares about maximizing profit.
That is not how business works. Whether the Pirates or any team can afford Reynolds contract is not about what the owner can afford, but what the team revenues can afford.
Do it BC.
The Pirates need another Reynolds in any trade they make during the deadline, so it doesn’t make much sense at all to trade him right now. Their system doesn’t have many hitters to begin with, let alone outfielders.
The Royals’ system also does not have many top guys knocking at the door, which is really what the Pirates need in order to take advantage of their pitching staff (i.e. Skenes) during the window they have. Any trade they make needs to feature a guy who’s blocked and pretty much ready to hit the ground running in 2026 and the Royals don’t have that, at least not at the positions the Pirates will need to fill moving forward (SS, OF). The Pirates may need a 1B eventually, but given that they already gambled on Horowitz (who seems to be coming around), it’s not likely that they’d invest any trade capital in that position. Not that they’ll get this kind of trade, but Cherington should be hunting a Rincon for Giles trade.
Hard pass on a match with the Royals for Reynolds. If the Royals want Kiner-Falefa (who could manage in the OF) for Javier Vaz or Gavin Cross, that’s a more reasonable trade and something the Pirates should consider.
Rincon for Giles may be one if the most underrated lobsided trades of last 30-ish years. Giles numbers—with basically no true protection in the lineup around him—were incredible.
It was, but from Cleveland’s perspective at the time, Giles was thoroughly blocked – they needed to get Thome, Justice and Richie Sexson all in the lineup together and couldn’t do it with Giles around. Plus their bullpen at the time was a black hole outside of Mike Jackson.
We can all laugh now about choosing Sexson over Giles, but he did hit quite a few HRs over the next few years between Cleveland and Milwaukee. Rincon was reasonably good against both sides of the plate. He didn’t work out so well in the following season, and certainly wasn’t worth a player of Giles’ caliber. But it’s not hard to see why the trade was made, even if it was short-sighted on Cleveland’s part.
Then Giles for Bay. Cutch for Reynolds.
Reynolds is probably long term DH once Cutch retires. Would hope they move him if the deal is good enough
No such thing as a .700 OPS DH.
Wilmer Flores, Josh Bell, and Jorge Soler would say otherwise…
And Cutch!
As does Starling Marte, Giancarlo Stanton, Nick Martini, Nick Maton…
Royals are more of a Tommy Pham shopper.
Reynolds would be a good fit for the Yankees. He’s showing a lot of Statcast red. Surrounded by better hitters, he could be a pleasant surprise. He would be an improvement from Jasson and his .387 SLG. Moreover, a deal could be expanded to include Bednar. The Yankees BP is getting smacked hard north of the border. The Pirates are a good (only?) trade partner for the Yankees.
I know the Yankees could use Reynolds, but I’m curious what they’d have to offer for either Bednar or Reynolds, let alone both. Either Spencer Jones or Dominguez are non-starters for such a trade, as far as I’m concerned. Jones may well eventually develop, but he has pretty scary swing-and-miss numbers. Plus I feel like if he were actually ready, the Yankees would have already brought him up.
If the Yanks are looking to poach a Pirates’ OF, they’d be a better match to deal from the bottom end of their top 30 for Tommy Pham and Ryan Borucki, with a lottery ticket or two also coming back to Pirates.
Spencer Jones is having his best season as a pro. Just got called up to AAA. Still K’s too much but it’s improved over the last 2 seasons.
Dude has really good power bat, wouldn’t mind seeing him hit into the Alleghany
He has Jack Suwinski 2.0 written all over him, IMHO.
You could be right. But Jack was never the prospect Spencer Jones was. That being said Jack had 1 1/2 yrs of good MLB play on his resume, Jones might never get that.
Reynolds would improve the Royals outfield. The bigger questions are: 1) Is this enough improvement? and 2) Is this the best use of $80 million (or whatever it costs if Pittsburgh throws in some cash)? I think the answer to both is a resounding “no!”
He is a below average RF defensively. They had talked about him transitioning to 1st before the season but that was before Spencer.
Cherington is on record as saying that any trade agreement he makes it would only be for a major league ready player or top prospect
He’s not going to give away position players for players who aren’t ready for major league pitching
If Bob tells him to sell then BC will sell.
Exactly if a team is willing to take Reynolds or Hayes contract and offer something of value they are gone.
I don’t care what Bc says he should be fired. He had 30 million to spend and got Pham to be an everyday LF. With Bubba struggling and Davis not playing every day his draft classes suck
true but Ben’s iob is on the ls on the line.
I recently read that Nutting has been complaining about the state of the team and low attendance at home games
I don’t disagree with you except that neither player is going to be just givien away just to dump their salaries
Nutting is reason for both. If he fired Williams Cherington Shelton and signed a better outfielder things would be different.
Cherrington did the shopping. He had over 20 million off the books with Taylor chapmen and company left.He signed Pham to the Mike Tayolr contract
Please don’t
Wow – He is having a down year. And five more seasons after this one on the books ? I guess time to dump, As the Pirates are known to do.
Not having a down year at all.
Reds should be all over this too. But they won’t.
It’s getting to be a bad joke…even more so than before.
Krall might not be allowed to spend that amount of money after bombing the deal with Candelario…
Well, no one has been extended outside of Hunter Greene. No one is making money outside of Martinez who will be traded soon and the waste of Candelario. Pagan is off the books at the end of the year and a few others. They are not spending anything anywhere else.
Then they have no excuse to open up the pocketbook and help this team now, not next year, now is the time I say.
I guess my question is why would the reds want Reynolds ? He doesn’t seem to be an ungrade over current platoon
And if reds did want him, he seems like an easy get, much easier than Robert. Plus they have the prospect capital to trade
Robert is just going to cost the cost to eat his contract no prospects
He’s not an upgrade over Benson and the flavor of the week? Come on…
I’m coming around, he would look nice batting 5/6 in that lineup. They blew their wad this offseason but reynolds contract ain’t terrible
That contract is a big red flag
Contract is good. Why teams are interested.
Pirates are stuck with him unless the Yankees come a calling⚾
Houston could become desperate enough to want him (and can afford him), especially if IKF were going there as well. Those two would give Houston a ton of flexibility regarding DH and their infield (at least once Pena is back).
Unlike the Yankees, the Astros actually have a few young players that the Pirates could use, like any of Whitcomb or Meyers on the ML roster or Brice Matthews in the minors. Nothing the Yankees have to offer in terms of near-ready players even comes close to any of those guys.
the Yankees don’t have anyone to trade for Reynolds
Any team in baseball trying to win should be interested in Reynolds. Pirates could trade him easily.
I doubt this is anything more than a passing thought. The odds of the Royals takihg on an $80 million dollar contract in trade is slim, and with little to no high end prospects to entice the Pirates into paying down a decent portion of that salary the odds get even lower.
If the Royals want an Outfielder they can probably get for literal peanuts they should the White Sox about a Benintendi reunion
Agree, bring Benny back!
Rather have Tauchman
True. The Royals are probably better off avoiding him, but this is huge news for a lot of teams if Reynolds is available at the deadline.
Straight up for asa lacy
The above reports of BR’s career demise will prove to be very premature.
21-It amazes me that half a year of mediocre hitting automatically means trade him.
He has been the best player on the team for several years.
Yes,he has gone downhill as an outfielder,but he is still passable at the very least.
He does not help with team leadership but he certainly never is a problem.
He should be a good player for 2 or 3 more years even if it is spent as a DH.
Yeah, because 2-3 win 30 year olds in the 3rd year of 8 year contracts, who are currently worse than replacement level while in a corner spot and feature bad fielding that’s already in perilous decline, are typically great bets to recover their form.
Oh, wait, no, those are the guys who routinely have very little left in the tank and are often cut in their early 30s, xStats notwithstanding.
I don’t think Jack Strawb likes Bryan Reynolds.
He thinks that he is a very bad player making way too much money.
I am not against trading him but they have to get a good return back.
Trading Reynolds would be a painful step in the right direction for the Pirates. Would have to return near-MLB prospects, but I’d imagine plenty of teams would pay big to bet on him bouncing back.
The team I feel has the best capital to swing a Reynolds is actually the Guardians. They’ve got a handful of near MLB-ready players that should interest the Pirates – and they have a pretty glaring need for OF production. Granted, they’re spiraling out of the AL Wild Card race at the moment, but Reynolds could be someone they use to try to make a modest run this year and can count on for another season or two before they also flip him.
The Pirates have the leverage in terms of return for Reynolds, and I think you’d want an “overpay” to even think about trading him right now. The Guardians could do just that if they offered Chase DeLauter as the return (they’d be slightly crazy to do so, IMO).
Most other teams don’t fit the criteria of having a near-MLB prospect that’s worth trading for while also being in the race for the playoffs and the ability to stomach some of Reynolds’ contract (I think it would become untenable for Cleveland after 2026).
Guardians don’t want to add payroll. Right now they would probably prefer another starting pitcher TBH.
We got a few of those, and one of them could or should certainly net DeLauter (Harrington, Burrows, Ashcraft).
Yeah. The Kyle Tucker trade feels similar. A return of 2 players who are almost there. Doesn’t necessarily need to be a prospect. But a 2nd or 3rd year guy.
Trade Reynolds for best available. A AA doesn’t matter. They could have signed a outfielder for 5 million or less almost as good as Reynolds. He’s just a guy.
If Cleveland has a major league hitter, they need to call him up right now.
Y’all are trippin if u think the pirates are capable of getting a quality return for Reynolds. He’s at a major low point and pirates have no clue how to negotiate
Those making decisions will see the increase in exit velo, hard hit rate, and decrease in BABIP as a reason to think a change of scenery could help. And 5/75 is a second best outfielder kind of salary on a half dozen teams who could be in on him, but its franchise player kind of money in Pittsburgh.
Nothing to bounce back. He’s as good as he ever was hitting wise. Pirates would be selling high. He has to regress at some age.
Royals don’t have anyone worthy of a return. Ones that they deem available, I mean.
“It’s possible the baseball gods are responsible for the dip.”
What an insightful analysis – NOT.
That’s like saying it’s God’s will for one to be stuck in traffic or on a delayed flight.
If everything is God’s will, why should anyone take responsibility for anything?
There is no dip anyways. Hitting just as well as he usually does.
I am very suspicious of everyone’s take on their god or gods, but the Baseball Gods are real. And they are ornery, arbitrary and usually drunk.
Makes sense considering the Royals collect outfielders who can’t hit
Pirates are the most depressing overall team in baseball since they waste unique players like skenes and O’Neil Cruz and somehow aren’t able to get better despite having years of rebuilding
At least the athletics and marlins and rays and angels can get prospects that produce
Angels? They have one of the richest owners, how can you compare that?
I don’t know if these are great franchises to compare to the Pirates.
The A’s have a worse record than the Pirates and have lost 90+ games each of the last three years (2 of those they lost over 100).
The Marlins have made the playoffs twice in the last 20+ years and have lost 90+ games 4 of the last 6 years.
The Angels have made the playoffs once since 2010 and haven’t had a winning season since 2015.
The Rays are the only “standout” in your list and they are widely regarded as wise stewards of a small market, albeit whiny regarding their personal investment in a new stadium they desperately need.
These teams may have better prospects (though, I’m not sure who you’re referring to) but their records are very very similar.
I was just trying to compare the teams with problems together to show that the pirates have nothing going for them
Rays are successful but their stadium situation is really bad, angels have a lot of money but their front office is dysfunctional
Pirates have a beautiful stadium with one of the best young pitching staffs including those of the billionaire teams.
They are over 500 with their new manager and just have created a record that has never been achieved before in baseball history.
They may have just reached mediocrity and we will see if it lasts but other than the Rays these other three teams are not doing it.
The problem with the Pirates is their owner. I have been to several parks and theirs is hands down the best. There is NO reason their owner spends like he owns the Rays.
50 years of terrible attendance is a good reason not to spend.
The Royals stadium is a lot like Coors Field, they have a very expansive outfield. I think it is the biggest in the league. They need to stop trying to cover their outfield with converted catchers and first basemen and get guys that can actually cover the ground. That team should have at least 2 natural center fielders, if not 3 in their lineup. They have a slugging shortstop and catcher, so the lost of sluggers in the corner outfield would be negligible. You have to build your team based on your home park and the Royals are just not doing that.
It’s the same problem as the Rockies, who constantly want to try building the team around pitching instead of getting contact hitters that can take advantage of Coors. So instead of winning ugly 10-9 games, they are losing uglier 5-2 games.
I hope they don’t demolish Kauffman and go to a new stadium, it would be awesome if both arrowhead and Kauffman get renovated together
As long as the voters keep shooting down the new stadiums then there’s hope
Reynolds has a huge split between his wOBA and xwOBA. He’s literally surging to close that gap now. I think he would be a great pickup for Kansas City as a veteran among a young core.
I’d also be curious if Pitt would move Cruz. He’s become a solid CF
Reynolds and Hayes for Volpe, Pereza, Pereira. Make it happen, Cashman. Jones or Dominez only get moved if Skenes is on the table
no thanks
None of those players are even worth a trade for Reynolds straight-up, let alone in a package with Hayes. Pereira can’t crack the roster despite the Yankees OF situation. Peraza is a career .195 hitter. Volpe is basically the same thing as Hayes, with a healthier back and less ability on defense.
We’ve already got Jones in our minors, his name is Jack Suwinski. Dominguez is the only one of that bunch that shows any kind of promise and even he is being outperformed by McCutchen at the moment.
Face it, the Yankees are either going to have to shop in the bargain aisle due to the state of their minor league system or give up what little prospect capital they have to overpay for someone like Luis Robert. What they got ain’t getting it done for Hayes or Reynolds, let alone both.
Reynolds has a terrible average on line drives.
That cant hold long term
Reynolds is owed what, $80M over the next 5 years? He was a 6.3 fWAR player in 2021. Since then 2.8, 2.1, 2.1 -0.1. This story is likely the Pirates leaking info to Rosenthal to try to drum up some interest to get them off the hook. If the Pirates get anybody to take him it will be for a low level prospect with Pittsburgh kicking in money.
KC, these are not the droids you’re looking for.
Carter Jensen, Gavin Cross & Carson Roccaforte (or Asbel Gonzalez) would be a decent package to get Reynolds from Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh gets out of the not great but not THAT BAD of a contract. Blake Mitchell should be ready for KC towards the end of next year or the beginning of ’27.
Too little too late; KC needed to aim higher and a month ago …
He’s probably be the second or third best bat in their lineup.
Don’t think Reynolds is washed up. Still young enough to bounce back and put up a few more decent seasons. Pirates have panicked in the past and sold low to save money. Hope they have learned that does not always work out.
That’s invariably written about 30 year olds four years removed from their peaks.
“He’s going to get it going any day now… any day now…”
And he might even pick it back up for a year or two, but at a 2 win level, not his 2021 level But the chance he’s worth 10 WAR over the rest of the deal is small, and you’d better how a hole at DH, because he’s not going to be worth putting in the field.
I don’t understand how anyone justifies this from the Pirates’ perspective (unless you think Reynolds is just bad, which I don’t see.) If this is the result of current record and a lost season, what are we rebuilding for? Skenes is one of the best pitchers to reach the bigs and is controllable through 2029. Trading Reynolds means Cherrington is building for when… 2029 and 2029 alone? That’s IF they don’t trade away Skenes before his arb salary balloons. Failing to even reasonably attempt to build a team around a talent like Skenes (not to mention the rest of a truly strong pitching staff and farm) is indefensible.
Nutting needs to sell the team or start showing any semblance of intent to take ownership responsibilities seriously—which he has made abundantly clear he will not do.
Reynolds is just a guy. If you traded Reynolds last year and signed Tauchman for 2m you would have done better. Easily replaced.
Trading Reynolds means spending the salary otherwise committed to him on 2026, 2027, and possibly 2028, and taking your lumps in 2029 and 2030—not planning your rebuild around the seasons where you can’t afford to keep Skenes.
Free agent hitters aren’t going to come to Pittsburgh. Even Verdugo turned down 8 mill this year.
They can get lefty starters, but that’s it.
The pirates need above average bats. Ditching one with all star track record/potential who is on a modest contract makes no sense. Not least because the Nutting won’t approve spending. But even if he did, I don’t see what players the front office could reallocate Reynolds’ contract to and net a better offense. Trading from the pitching depth is painful but at least sensible. Trading away one of the only good bats is absurd.
This report has all the stench of little-old-lady fabricated gossip via Ken Rosenthal. I am sure there are many teams who would be interested in Reynolds. Why is KC singled out here? Ask any MLB GM, “Would you be interested in having Bryan Reynolds play for your team?” Answer: “Yes, he’s a fine player.” Can someone find something for Rosenthal to do on slow news days, like knitting sweaters, maybe?
After this season five years at 16m season left. His trade value is about zero. That’s not cutting the player down or saying he stinks. Just that if he actually worth 16m it’s not a penny more. So if you’re taking on that money why would you give anything other than someone you’ve decided to release
Rather sign Kepler Santander Conforto? Reynolds looks good. And has body work ethic injury history you look for.
Royals shouldn’t be any more buyers than the Pirates. They should actually be the Pirates blueprint. Winning with a great rotation and pen. If it weren’t for Witt Jr, their offense would be rhe worst in the league.
There’s a decent chance KC will be further back for the WC than Pittsburgh by the break.
Clash of the 6.5-9 games back teams next week.
Over/unders should be around 6
This sounds like a Royals type of move
a bit of sarcasim here…
Pirates have one 6 in a row and are above .500 since the start of June. Just 12 more and they’re back in the hunt to have an outside shot at a wild card!
Still.. showing some life and finishing out the season changes the outlook dramatically for next season. Of course could just be a flash pan moment giving false hope in the break.
The homestand success probably is a flash in the pan but no other team has ever achieved it in baseball history so it is something to remember and be proud of.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that they could go 13-7 in the remaining games heading into the deadline. It’s not hard to imagine that, given the August schedule, they could win 17-18 of those 29 games. I say that even with the almost certain subtractions of Heaney and Ferguson, and the high likelihood that none of Frazier, Pham and IKF are on the roster come August. I truly would be surprised if anyone under team control will be dealt, at least none of the names that are commonly coming up.
My preference would be that they sweeten the pot on one of the above guys with someone like Harrington or Burrows to nab an MLB-ready OF. That doesn’t pair well with most teams looking to buy for this year’s deadline; the Cubs have the deepest group of that category, but they’re going to swing for Keller over anything else. Cleveland has some intriguing guys, and could even use Pham to get themselves back into the WC race with another potential pitching piece (Burrows/Harrington/etc.) for someone like DeLauter. It’s doubtful, but one could hope.
Pundit-I just hope that Cherington does not screw it up.
Actually the five free agents to be have been playing well and if for whatever reason the Pirates do continue to play well they should consider keeping them if they can only get the Carter Bins of the world for each of them.
Not sure if they could bundle two or three and actually get a bona fide good prospect.
I also think that if they do trade them they should consider resigning some of them as necessary to fill gaps next year.
The young players who take their places this year will be on a test to see if they can play good ML baseball.
This is a fluke. A nice fluke, but the Pirates just set a record for a certain runs scored and runs against combination over the last 6 games.
That’s not what they are as a team. It’s nice that they won an informal lottery in the month before the break., but that’s all it is.
The Pirates have need for an outfield bat (2 if they trade Reynolds) and the Royals are looking for an outfield bat. Don’t see how they match up for a trade unless a third team gets involved.
Reynolds isn’t a long term OF. The pirates have a lot of young players in AA and AAA who can play RF. Can also target bats when Bednar and Keller are traded at the deadline
The only guys in AA or AAA that can play the outfield are Nick Yorke and Billy Cook.
Pirates are 38-54, not 38-50, and as a fan living in Pittsburgh I’d love to know where you got your info about the team planning to contend in ‘26 because from where I sit if contending requires acquiring quality players then Nitting has ko interest in contending.