Mariners Linked to Kris Bryant and Bryan Reynolds: What Does it Mean?

The Mariners have been in the news lately, rumors have been coming out about them trying to trade for two National League star hitters. One is former Cubs and Giants star Kris Bryant, with the other being Pirates All-Star Bryan Reynolds.

Shannon Drayer commented on the Talking Mariners podcast with James Osborne that the Mariners were very interested in trading for then Cubs star Kris Bryant, with talks getting pretty far along.

Another Mariners rumor came from Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, this one about Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds. On Divish’s podcast, Extra Innings, he talked with Daniel Kramer about the Mariners trying to get Reynolds from the Pirates. This seemed to be a little more than exploratory talks with the Pirates, however, the Pirates would have to be willing to part with Reynolds first.

The Mariners now are known to have been connected to these two players, Bryant and Reynolds. They are both very good players and now Kris Bryant is a free agent and does not have to be traded for. This could mean that the Mariners are more interested in him now since they only have to offer him a contract. James Osborn believes that Bryant could be the player that Jerry Dipoto described to Mike Salk on the Mike Salk Show on 710 ESPN Seattle.

Dipoto described players that Seattle would target in the offseason. Mike Salk had asked about some of the shortstops on the free-agent market and how they fit in with J.P. Crawford at shortstop. Dipoto talked about wanting players that can play multiple positions and be comfortable with that. Bryant certainly can play multiple positions which Osborne mentions above. This could mean that Kris Bryant is a top target of the Mariners this offseason.

The Mariners connection to Bryan Reynolds is more interesting. Reynolds is a really good young player on the struggling Pirates. The Pirates are likely years from contending, but Brian Reynolds is under contract through the 2025 season. This means that the Pirates may be holding onto Reynolds as a player who can lead them through their rebuild. The Mariners probably balked at a really high asking price that Jerry Dipoto was uncomfortable with.

Brian Reynolds could be a player the Mariners target if they want to pay the price for him. Reynolds is not a bad player just because he is on a bad team either, he had a 6 WAR season in 2021. Reynolds isn’t a slouch in center either, putting up decent metrics in his first season focusing on the position. He is also a switch hitter and hit over .300 last year. He would be an incredible get for the Mariners if they are able to and were willing to meet the price.

The Mariners have now been connected to two high-quality players, one who they could sign (Kris Bryant) and one who they could trade for (Bryan Reynolds). This shows that the Mariners are willing to build their team this offseason and they should be expected to be coming up in the rumor mill more and more. Jerry Dipoto and co. are ready to make a big splash this winter… and it could come soon.