Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds has requested a trade from the team. The report was broken by Jason Mackey and Robert Murray, and quickly confirmed by more national reporters.
Jon Heyman reported that extension negotiations between the two sides reached an impasse, which led to Reynolds requesting a trade.
The MLB Winter Meetings are approaching this week, and you can imagine Reynolds will now be a massive subject of rumors, and might even be traded.
The Pirates don’t have to trade Reynolds. Heyman reports that he hears the trade request has “no bearing” on the Pirates plans. Jason Mackey followed with a statement from the team.
Pirates comment on Bryan Reynolds requesting a trade through a team spokesman: pic.twitter.com/1SaVjxBqKa
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) December 3, 2022
It wouldn’t be ideal to keep a player on the team who doesn’t want to be around. I doubt Reynolds would perform to his best. While the Pirates don’t need to do anything, this news makes it increasingly likely that Reynolds will be traded this offseason.
Reynolds is currently under team control for three more seasons, and under contract for the 2023 season. The Pirates took criticism last offseason for going to arbitration with him over a difference of $650,000 (Reynolds filed for $4.9 million and the team countered with $4.25 million). The Pirates ended up signing him to a two-year deal, paying him $6.75 million each season.
The Pirates aren’t expected to win in 2023, and most of the players they’ve been connected to are veterans. The 2023 season looks like a building year, where the Pirates are likely to be sellers at the deadline.
At that point, Reynolds has two years left on a team that hopefully will be in position to add with the intention of contending heading into 2024.
Pirates fans would probably argue that the team should build around Reynolds. The Pirates, however, haven’t expressed urgency on this matter. I don’t know what would change between now and then, other than removing a year of control. Perhaps the Pirates hope that Reynolds has a change of heart and remains in Pittsburgh through 2025.
Or, maybe this is all well-timed leverage to make Reynolds the biggest name on the trade block heading into the winter meetings.
I guess we’ll have to see how it plays out. We’ll keep you updated if anything else comes from this situation.
UPDATE: Jon Heyman notes that the Pirates made Reynolds an offer that was the richest in team history
Pirates offered to make Reynolds the highest paid Pirate in team history by total $, which means more than Ke’Bryan Hayes’ $70M deal. That says something, but fairly, not that much since Reynolds has much more service time and is a more accomplished big leaguer.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 3, 2022
