Bryan Reynolds Avoiding Yankees Trade Rumors
He doesn't want to talk about it.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds' name has been brought up in trade rumors dating back to last season. He also requested a trade back in December after he and the Pirates couldn't agree on a contract extension.
One of the teams that Reynolds has been linked to is the Yankees, which led Yankees beat writer Randy Miller to stake out in the Pirates' clubhouse to try to catch Reynolds in order to get his thoughts on the rumors. However, Miller was told that Reynolds doesn't want to talk about the situation.
A few minutes later, Reynolds finally walked into the clubhouse. When I fast-walked his way, Reynolds sped up and headed to a back room.
After missing out, I headed to a nearby PR official and asked, “Can you get Reynolds for me? I just need him for a few minutes.”
“He’s got to do something in the trainer’s room,” I was told.
“Can I get him later?” I asked.
That question brought out the truth, the real reason Reynolds stayed out of the clubhouse. He’d been told a Yankees writer was there for an interview.
“He doesn’t want to talk about his situation,” the PR man told me.
The Yankees are looking to upgrade in left field and Reynolds is coming off back-to-back strong campaigns in Pittsburgh, in which he hit .302 with 24 homers and 90 RBI in 2021 and .262 with 27 homers and 62 RBI last season.
Although Reynolds requested a trade this winter, it appears that the Pirates are going to hang on to him unless they get blown away by a trade offer.
For the Yankees, the Pirates would probably want No. 1 prospect Anthony Volpe, which would be a non-starter for New York.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Reynolds turned down a six-year, $80 million extension, countering with an eight-year, $134 million deal.
Reynolds, 28, is under control for the next three years. The belief is that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh long-term.
“I (told the Pirates) that I would sign a fair deal.” Reynolds said on Feb. 15. “I don’t want it to be an unfair team deal. I don’t want either side of it to come out and be like, ‘Man, they kind of got us.’ I want it to be that both sides got some skin in it.”
So, while there has been plenty of buzz linking Reynolds and the Yankees, It's probably an unrealistic scenario at this point.
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