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.

1) San Diego Padres are a good fit for Bryan Reynolds

The San Diego Padres have made a lot of moves in the last calendar year to improve their team. They traded for Juan Soto from the Nationals and closer Josh Hader from the Brewers at the trade deadline last year. This offseason, they signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts, DH Nelson Cruz, reliever/starter Seth Lugo, and starter Michael Wacha.

But outside of Soto, their outfield has some question marks. Right now, Fernando Tatis Jr. is slated to be their center fielder. However, he will be playing a new position after missing the entire 2022 season due to multiple injuries and a positive PED test. He will be suspended for the first few weeks of the season due to that test. In the meantime, their center and right fielders are Trent Grisham and Matt Carpenter.

Grisham won a Gold Glove last year but he hit .184 with a .626 OPS. Carpenter had a great season for the Yankees in a small sample size last season, but the 37-year-old is not really an outfielder. The Padres have two of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects.

2) The Philadelphia Phillies

The reigning National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies have shown that they are willing to spend money for the long term as they signed Trea Turner to an 11-year contract this offseason. Bryce Harper is signed through the 2031 season as well.

Currently, their center fielder is Brandon Marsh. His offense improved once the Phillies traded for him from the Angels. Nonetheless, his offense is a bit of a question mark. The rest of their outfield is a question mark defensively. Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos are good offensively but Castellanos, in particular, should be a DH.

If the Phillies were to acquire Reynolds, Marsh could remain in center field, Reynolds could move to right field (where he is better defensively), Castellanos could be the DH, and Darick Hall could be one of the pieces going to Pittsburgh. The Phillies also have two of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects.

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.