5 teams that should trade for Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds

The Pittsburgh Pirates have fallen back into the depths of despair, one that Pirates fans are all too familiar with. From 1993 through 2012, the club never even finished above .500, let alone made the playoffs. They won an NL Wild Card spot in 2013-2015 but never advanced past the NLDS. Since then, the Pirates have had one season with a winning record (2018) and finished in fourth or fifth place in all but one season (2016).

In the last three seasons, they have lost 100, 101, and 41 games (in the 60-game 2020 season, or equivalent to 111 losses in a 162-game season).

Part of the reason why the Pirates have been such a woeful team is their lack of payroll. From 2015 through 2017, their average payroll was $95.27 million. That number was still in the bottom third of the league. But in 2021 and 2022, their payroll has been $100.95 million … combined between the two seasons. That low payroll and a slew of bad draft picks have hampered the franchise, by and large, for 30 years.

Things don’t look to be changing on the payroll front any time soon as the club has not spent a lot this offseason and they have not been able to come to a contract agreement with their All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds. As a result, he has requested a trade from the club.

Reynolds, 28, has three years left until free agency and in the last two years, he has averaged 152 games a season with 26 home runs, 76 RBI, 27 doubles, a .283/.368/.492 slash line, an OPS+ of 136, and a combined rWAR of 8.9.

With that kind of production, there will be a lot of teams that will be interested in Reynolds but only a few teams have the prospects to be able to get Reynolds as well as the need for an outfielder.

Here are the five teams that should pursue Bryan Reynolds in a trade right now.

3) The Cleveland Guardians

If the Cleveland Guardians were to trade for Bryan Reynolds, they have one issue that the Pirates have: they have not shown a willingness to spend money. In the last two seasons combined, they have had a payroll of about $118 million on Opening Day. However, they have spent more in recent years as they had a payroll of about $150 million in 2018. Additionally, they have been able to win (they have one losing season since 2013 and that was an 80-82 season in 2021).

Cleveland has one of the best farm systems in the game as they have six prospects on MLB.com’s Top 100 list. In other words, they could trade for Reynolds and still have a very good farm system. They have an offensive need in center field as Myles Straw hit .221 with a .564 OPS in 2022. However, Straw will be in the second year of a five-year deal (worth $25 million).

Cleveland will also have to see if Óscar González and Steven Kwan can repeat what they did in their rookie seasons. If they can’t, they should be on the phone with Pittsburgh ASAP.

4) The Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays fall into a similar category as Cleveland. For Bryan Reynolds, he would be going to a team that, likely, wouldn’t be signing him long-term, as he would like with the Pirates. They don’t spend money but like Cleveland and unlike Pittsburgh, they are perennial contenders and they could use some offensive help.

In center field, the Rays have José Siri, who had a difficult time adjusting to MLB pitching in his first full season in the majors in 2022. He hit .213 with a .607 OPS. Reynolds would be a big upgrade there.

5) The Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are, arguably, the best team in the National League and they are contenders every year. They have the prospects to trade for Reynolds (they lead MLB with seven prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100), they have the money to extend Reynolds long-term, and, despite having one of the best teams in the sport, they have a need for a center fielder.

Trayce Thompson is at the top of the depth chart in center for the Dodgers. In parts of six seasons in the majors, the soon-to-be 32-year-old has never played in more than 80 games in the majors. Thompson did hit well in the majors last year (135 OPS+) but 93 strikeouts in 219 appearances and a BAbip of .374 suggest that he will come crashing down to Earth.

Otherwise, their next option is Jason Heyward, who has been injured and has not been a good hitter in a few years. Chris Taylor figures to be in the mix but he will also be spending time in left field with David Peralta.

Bryan Reynolds could be a huge addition for any of these teams but with the Dodgers, he seems to be a very good fit.