Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings will officially get underway on Sunday and while there are plenty of free agent discussions going on, a potential trade target surfaced Saturday. Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds has asked the team for a trade, and while the club says that they are focused on improving this offseason, they will no doubt listen to trade offers.
The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel reported Saturday that he was told at the start of the offseason that the Atlanta Braves might make an under the radar push for Reynolds this winter.
At the start of the offseason, a major-league source told The Athletic the Bravesmight make a strong, under-the-radar push for Reynolds this winter. That could mean a sort of homecoming for Reynolds, who attended Vanderbilt and lives in Nashville, a four-hour drive from Atlanta.
Whether or not Reynolds’ trade demand helps or hurts a potential Braves’ pursuit remains to be seen. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported Saturday evening that the Pirates are listening to offers for Reynolds, but the price tag is steep.
the #pirates are listening on trade proposals for outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who formally requested a trade, but the asking price remains quite steep, rival GMs say, and they do not anticipate he will be moved.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 4, 2022
The Braves have several young arms that are approaching the major leagues such as Darius Vines and Jared Shuster. They also have Bryce Elder and Kyle Muller who spent most of the last season at Triple A, but don’t have a clear path to a rotation spot in 2023. The position player side is thin. It doesn’t seem that Atlanta would deal Vaughn Grissom before the shortstop position is settled. Justyn Henry-Malloy could be expendable if the Braves were adding an outfielder in return. One thing is for sure, there will be a number of teams interested if the Pirates elect to make Reynolds available.
For now it is just speculation, but we should see a good bit more of that over the next few days. stay tuned.