BRADENTON, Fla. — Bryan Reynolds' comments Wednesday weren't terribly surprising. He didn't bash the Pirates or rescind his trade request. He simply explained, in his own understated way, where things stood between him and the team.
"Without getting too much into it, there was a difference in opinion on how we viewed my worth as a player," Reynolds said when asked what led him to potentially pull the plug on his Pirates tenure in December.
If Reynolds and the Pirates can't agree on anything — it certainly feels unlikely at this point — an uncomfortable question could soon follow: What happens to other players who've theoretically earned big money?
As a Pirates fan, you'd surely hope Oneil Cruz enjoys a different fate, especially when looking at the context surrounding what signing Reynolds could potentially cost. In other words, not a ton when compared to some of the crazy spending that occurred around MLB this offseason.
Shoot, the per-year averages on Reynolds' reported team-offered deal ($13.3 million) and the one his camp wants ($16.9 million) would rank him 20th and 17th, respectively, among MLB's highest-paid outfielders.
Not all players. Just outfielders.
If you look at all MLB players and what they will make in 2023, a hypothetical $16.9 million-a-year salary would place Reynolds 70th, a hair above Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas ($16,750,000).
There's something wrong with being unable or unwilling to retain this player, no?
Reynolds isn't asking for the world. He's asking to be fairly compensated, for his yearly salary to exceed a No. 4 starter, when Reynolds has accumulated 9.6 more Wins Above Replacement (per Baseball Reference) than Mikolas since making his MLB debut in 2019.
The biggest crime for Reynolds might be the fact that he wasn't drafted by the Mets. Look at the list of outfielder salaries for 2023, and Reynolds falls below Brandon Nimmo ($18,500,000) of the Mets and Michael Conforto ($18,000,000) of the Giants. Both were first-round picks in New York.
Granted they've each played seven seasons to Reynolds' four, but he's currently averaging 3.4 bWAR per year compared to 2.5 for Nimmo and 2.2 for Conforto.
Of course, the timing here didn't help the Pirates — not that anyone should be leaning on that as an excuse. But the time to strike with Reynolds was probably after the 2019 season, when he finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting and was worth 4.2 bWAR.
The only problem was that the Pirates first had to clean house, and it's not like Ben Cherington's first order of business was going to be handing out one of the richest contracts in franchise history to someone who had played one season, 134 games that the new general manager likely did not see.
Again, no excuses. The Pirates have had plenty of time to get something done with Reynolds, and to this point, hardly any traction has been gained, hence Reynolds' trade request. There's also still time to fix this, if they want.
Asked multiple times Wednesday whether he would still be willing to sign here, Reynolds said he would have no problem doing that for the right contract.
"I think I've been pretty open the past few years about my Number 1 would be to sign an extension in Pittsburgh, but I want that to be a fair deal for both sides," Reynolds said. "Not one side or the other. Not a crazy player deal. Not a crazy team deal. [An extension in Pittsburgh] has always been my Number 1."
The truly fascinating part will be how the Pirates choose to handle all of this. If they move Reynolds by this year's trade deadline, they can cash in on his two remaining years of club control after 2023, value that should theoretically help net better return.
Or they could engage in a staring contest with Reynolds, daring him to show up for work every day and be the same guy, trusting this won't become an issue in the clubhouse and probably sending a sour message to the rest of MLB when it comes to treating players decently.
But the fix, again, should pivot to door No. 3, with the Pirates finally getting out of their comfort zone and avoiding an outcome that you simply cannot have.
One where a player does everything right, says several times that he wants to play in Pittsburgh and merely wants a deal that would make him the 17th-highest paid at his position ... while producing the 11th-most fWAR among that group since his MLB debut.
Reynolds deserves better. Fans of the team who have been through a painful rebuild do, as well.
Whether it involves more money over six years or the team's proposed six-year number over eight — a length of contract more palatable to Reynolds — the new group in charge can show its different by finding a way to reverse course and for the Pirates to keep their best player.
