How the Mariners could complete a 3 team trade for Bryan Reynolds

PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 18: Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts after hitting a two run home run in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox during inter-league play at PNC Park on August 18, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - AUGUST 18: Bryan Reynolds #10 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts after hitting a two run home run in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox during inter-league play at PNC Park on August 18, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next

News broke on Saturday that Pittsburgh Pirates centerfielder Bryan Reynolds had requested to be traded. This is music to many Seattle Mariners fans’ ears because he is one of the most popular players that gets connected to Seattle. The Pirates All-Star has been the apple of the eye of many M’s fans since the last offseason, but due to being under club control through the 2025 season, a trade is going to be difficult.

For those who don’t know much about Bryan Reynolds, he is one of the best all-around players in baseball. He had a great rookie season in 2019 when he had a 3.4 WAR season according to Fangraphs. He then struggled in 55 games in 2020 but rebounded with a 6-win season in 2021. His production dipped in 2022 but was still nearly a 3 WAR player. His career slash line is .281/.361/.481.

As a switch hitter, Reynolds brings versatility as a player who can hit both lefty and righty pitching. He also is a good athlete and an average or better defender. In 2021, he had 11 Outs Above Average in center, but this year he had -7. Now that could mean he had a great year followed by a bad one, but it is more likely he is a little better than average. He would fit nicely in left field especially compared to Jesse Winker who could barely field last season.

Trading for Bryan Reynolds will be hard to pull off for Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto, but if there is an executive in baseball that can do it, Dipoto is for sure a favorite. Due to trading highly ranked prospects such as Edwin Arroyo, Noelvi Marte, and Brandon Williamson in the past year, and the graduation of players like Julio Rodriguez, George Kirby, and Logan Gilbert, the Mariners no longer have an elite farm system to trade from.

Even with having a dip in farm system rankings, the Mariners could still pull off a trade for the Vanderbilt product. Due to the extreme difficulty to trade for Reynolds, there may be some other teams out there that would be able to make a three-team trade work that nets the Mariners Reynolds.

There are three teams that could be potential fits in a three-team deal, and they are teams that could use Pirates All-Star closer, David Bednar. The first team is the Los Angeles Dodgers.