'Is what it is:' Cherington, Shelton address Reynolds' trade request

SAN DIEGO -- On Saturday afternoon, it was made public that Bryan Reynolds had requested a trade from the Pirates.

The timing was deliberate, coming just a day before the Winter Meetings, the busiest four days on the offseason's calendars. The Pirates had received trade offers for Reynolds for two years now, even if they didn't have much interest in trading him. News that Reynolds was unhappy would renew those potential trade talks and make him one of the most coveted targets at the meetings.

It was a move that was not entirely unexpected from the Pirates side.

“I think that we anticipated that -- not long ago -- this may be something that happens as we head to the Winter Meetings," Ben Cherington told traveling media Monday in his suite at the Grand Hyatt hotel. "In the way that it did, sort of is what it is. There’s someone who felt like there was an advantage to doing that and I can’t speak for someone else’s action. I’m focused on what we’re doing here and thinking about that. 

"As I’ve said many times before, we really admire Bryan as a player, we appreciate who he is in terms of [a] player. He plays hard, has a lot of tenacity and is somebody we respect."

The Pirates quickly released a statement Saturday that they were not interested in trading him, ending it with, "we look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates” in 2023.

Even with that statement in mind, it does feel like that even after years of trade rumors surrounding Reynolds, this request could be a catalyst that actually leads to a trade.

"I think it’s unfortunate when things become public like that," Derek Shelton said Monday. "Our expectation is that Bryan Reynolds is gonna be who Bryan Reynolds is on the field. We’ve talked continuously about the way he plays the game and the effort he gives. In my conversations with him, I don’t think that’s going to change. The business side we will let be handled, but my expectation is Bryan Reynolds will continue to be the player that he is."

The "business side" Shelton refers to is likely a reference to contract negotiations Reynolds and the Pirates have had recently that has not yielded much traction. According to a report by Jon Heyman, the Pirates' offer would have been the most lucrative in franchise history. However, given that number is the eight-year, $70 million deal Ke'Bryan Hayes' signed in April, it was not enough for Reynolds to sign.

When asked if he would still be open to negotiating a long-term deal with Reynolds, Cherington said he felt those conversations should stay with the team and the player, which is par for the course with other extensions he has discussed over the years.

Shelton and Reynolds have not talked since Reynolds' request became public, but they did talk shortly before it did.

"We had a good conversation," Shelton said. "We talked through some things. You guys know me. Any conversation I have with a player will stay private. But overall, the tone of the conversation was good."

The Pirates had hoped the 2023 season would be a step forward for the major-league team after back-to-back 100-loss seasons in 2021 and 2022, and finishing with the worst record in the sport in 2020. Many of their top prospects are set to reach the majors at some point next year. It's why most of their moves this winter have been centered around adding to the major-league team, like Carlos Santana and Ji-Man Choi.

Trading Reynolds would be counterproductive for improving the 2023 team, which is where Cherington's focus is right now.

“It’s early December," Cherington said. "We’re at the Winter Meetings. We’re really energized frankly by our offseason and feeling like it’s a time when we’re focused on adding to the team. We’re off to a good start. We want to continue to add. That’s where our energy is going, and it’s been energizing as a group to think about it and it’s been a little bit different than some of the prior offseasons that I’ve been here. It’s not like in other offseasons that we hadn’t been trying to improve but the conversations feel different this offseason. It’s like we’re trying to identify here’s this gap and let’s figure out how to improve them."

Not trading a player who requested out also runs the risk of having a negative influence in the clubhouse, though Shelton and Cherington do not see that being an issue with Reynolds.

For years, Shelton has singled out Reynolds as an example of how he wants his players to work, prepare and play. He sees that still being the case in 2023.

"I don’t think that anything is going to affect the way Bryan Reynolds is as a player, the way he is in the clubhouse," Shelton said. "He’s such a good human being that I don’t think any of this stuff will affect our clubhouse at all."

"Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior typically," Cherington said. "You just look at the track record and how he’s played the game throughout his life and career, we have full trust in him. It’s just not something we’re thinking about right now. We’re thinking about the offseason and what do we want to do when we get to spring training. It’s more the opportunity to think about how we want to come together as a group inside that room. We’ll turn our focus to that at that point."

And with a large batch of prospects set to come up to the majors in 2023, they're going to need players to look up to. Even after that request, there's a belief Reynolds can be one of those guys.

"With our young players, I think that coming to the big leagues is just immersing themselves in the big leagues and immersing themselves in our culture," Shelton said. "I want our young players to watch how Bryan Reynolds plays. I think we’ve said this time and time again that if we get everyone to play with the aggressiveness and the effort that he plays with, we’re in really good shape because of how he exemplifies. I do not expect that to be any issue."