MLB All-Star Center Fielder Requests Trade As Talks With Pirates At Impasse

The Pittsburgh Pirates and outfielder Bryan Reynolds have reportedly gotten nowhere on contract extension talks, and it appears their negotiations are in for rough sailing.

According to Jon Heyman of The MLB Network, the All-Star center fielder has asked for a trade from the Pirates with talks at an impasse.

However, Pittsburgh allegedly has no plans to deal the 27-year-old player, and such could be a problem over the horizon.

The decision of Reynolds has left the Pirates disappointed with his decision. In a statement, they made it clear that this has zero impact on their decision in the offseason or the future.

"Our goal is to improve the Pirates for 2023 and beyond. With three years until he hits free agency, Bryan remains a key member of our team. We look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates," an official statement stated on Saturday, December. 3.

Given the situation, it remains unclear if the Pirates would change their stance.

Several MLB teams could use Reynolds, particularly the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays.

Of the aforementioned teams, the Mets could be a sensible stop.But this is only plausible if Brandon Nimmo opts to move to another team in free agency.

Tied to that, questions are up in the air on whether the Mets have the depth that can convince the Pirates to agree to move one of their cornerstone players.

In 2022, Reynolds hit .262, had 27 home runs with 62 RBIs, and scored 74 runs.

But this may hinge on what moves the Yankees would make. Nimmo is believed to be a target by the MLB team, potentially insurance if Aaron Judge jumps ship.

The 29-year-old played the most number of games of his career in 2022, recording a .362 OBP over 151 regular-season games and hitting 16 homers.

The Pirates continue to rebuild under the watch of general manager Ben Cherington.

So far, they have acquired Ji-man Choi from the Rays and also signed Carlos Santana to a $6.75 million one-year deal.

"We think we've got a group of young players that has a chance to help us get better and continue to get better, and we'll try to add to that group in the way that makes the most sense," Cherington stated.