Royals have been looking for an outfield upgrade for years, Ken Rosenthal Bryan Reynolds Among the Pirates, although Rosenthal added that the negotiations have not gained momentum yet, Kansas City is also interested in other batsmen.
Reynolds, 30, has been one of the faces of pirates for many years. He has been one of their few consistent performers as the club struggles to win. Just two years ago, they signed him for a seven-year, $100mm extension, the biggest guarantee the franchise offers.
Despite his position in the club, he seems at least somewhat available. The Pirates are 38-50 and 9 games in the playoffs, giving them a clear seller position. Recent reports suggest they will have few off-limit zone participants during this month’s trading conversation Paul Skynis and Andrew McCutchen The only player who will truly get out of the situation is reportedly the only player to be out of the situation.
The willingness to discuss the transaction does not mean that it will actually happen, but picking up the phone shows a non-zero opportunity. Reynolds is now in his 30s and his performance has declined this year. His line this season is .237/.301/.393, which means WRC+90. He was never a particularly powerful defender, so he needed to hit to provide value.
The baseball god may be responsible for the dipping sauce. Reynolds entered the year with a hit rate of 0.328 in this year’s game, but his BABIP this season is only .295. Although his playing metrics have actually improved, in fact. He has a hard hit rate of 49.1%, an outlet speed of 91.8 miles per hour and a barrel rate of 11.5%.
It brings a tricky calculation to the pirates. As mentioned earlier, Reynolds is a respected member of the franchise and has signed the largest contract in the history of the franchise. The transaction was only two years after the signing, and when the fan base was no longer satisfied, public relations must be bad public relations. From a purely baseball perspective, this is also tricky. Now Mobile Reynolds may be selling a little as his surface level statistics are lowered, but the numbers under the hood look good.
On the other hand, the Pirates are always on a tight budget, with the Reynolds deal with five years and 76mm left after this year, including the acquisition on the 2031 club option. At the end of July, the $12mm salary is still around 4mm left this year, meaning that about $80mm of remaining will be paid during the deadline. With the lack of sellers this year, maybe Bucs dreams of moving forward from a big chunk of change that players who are underage have a chance, and maybe rewarding something useful.
But, of course, it requires some clubs to rebound against Reynolds from this year’s coma. The club may have some doubts about this. If Reynolds was declared a free agent today, he might not have gotten a deal of 80mm, which is arguably making the deal underwater. Pirates can eat some money in the transaction to improve their earnings, but this may exacerbate the PR problem. After a short time, they will not only trade the largest deal in franchise history, but they will also pay Renault to play elsewhere.
As mentioned earlier, their outfield is an ongoing problem for the Royals. Kyle Isbel and Drew Waters The leadership team made its debut at the off-site spot this year, but each person’s WRC+ is 66. Hunter Renfroe He is a fool, he has been released. Jac Caglianone He tasted the MLB game time for the first time, but wasn’t in a dilemma. this MJ Melendez The experiment lasted for many years before being sent to a minor.
This is an important part of the club’s heaviest offense. Last year, due to an excellent season, they were able to succeed Bobby Witt Jr.and from El Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantinobut the lineup was otherwise pretty dull. This year, Witt is still pretty good, but not the speed last year. Perez’s fall was even bigger. From Michael Garcia These inclinations have been compensated, but are still a lineup with many holes.
The club has a collective .243/.298/.364 line and 81 WRC+, and its production is worse than every major league club except the White Sox and Rockies. They still manage to hold the dispute due to their pitching, but are currently 5.5 games in the playoffs. Providing a shock to the lineup will certainly improve their chances of gaining in the game.
Although royals spend a little more money than pirates, they are not the top dogs in that department. Witt’s expansion is the only deal in its franchise history, larger than the 100mm offered by the Pirates to Reynolds. As part of the mid-season deal, take out $80mm for 80mm.
Maybe they think it’s an opportunity that is usually unusable. As Rosenthal points out, they are Anthony Santander This winter, he eventually signed with the Blue Jays. Technically, it’s a five-year, $92.5mm deal, but it’s actually worth about 70mm when it’s deferred. The royal family also reported Jurickson Profarhe signed a three-year, $42mm deal with Atlanta. Maybe it was a coincidence, but those two and Renault were both cavalrymen.
After struggling to find free agents willing to take the money, maybe they think it’s an opportunity to solve the problem. Reynolds does not have complete no trade clauses, but does have the ability to limit trades to six teams. It is unknown whether the royal family is one of the six on his list. But as mentioned earlier, $80mm has to be a factor. This is more than what Profar and Santander get when considering the extension. If royals don’t have the money to complete such deals in the winter, do they have one now?
Back in Pittsburgh, that’s not to say that their bats emit so exaggerated that they can discard them lightly. The main reason they are in the seller position this year is because their pitches are actually pretty good because they pitch very well. This also seems to be largely the same, as they have enviable young weapons but lack the impact of the bat. They don’t have a qualified batsman with WRC+ over 112 this year. McCutchen, 38, is the only one with a WRC+ higher than 102. Reynolds has faced some obstacles this year, but he is still one of the best bats in the roster and he trades him to deal a huge blow to their future offense.
In many ways, this is a very interesting fit. Over the years, royals have obviously tried to attract players like Renault, so it is understandable that they will be interested. But can they make it work financially? Pirates naturally have to consider how to make the most of this lost season. However, Pittsburgh front desk must also consider PR’s hit percentage and relegation to next year’s offense. They certainly want to compete in 2026, and their pitching makes this possible, but the lineup is already terrible and it would have been worse without Renault.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
