CINCINNATI -- Talking with traveling reporters in Lakeland, Fla. last week, Bryan Reynolds said he had a "pretty firm" preference to get a potential long-term extension done before opening day.
It turns out that the deadline is pretty soft, because opening day has come and gone and neither side has walked away from the table just yet.
According to a source, the two sides are actually in agreement in terms of dollars for that long-term deal, but there is a "major conceptual issue" that has prevented a deal and has prevented this franchise-record contract from being completed.
That issue is a player opt-out, a sticking point for Reynolds' camp's side after they were willing to compromise on money and not including a no-trade clause.
The two sides have come together on a figure that is believed to be seven years for $100 million, not including the previously agreed upon $6.75 million deal for the 2023 season.
The opt-out was proposed for the 2026 season, four years from now and three years into a potential new deal. Reynolds, 28, is on the second year of a two-year, $13.5 million contract he signed last season to avoid arbitration, and he has two years of arbitration remaining before he is eligible for free agency. The deal, if the Pirates give in to Reynolds' camp's ask for the opt-out, would guarantee they have team control of him for at least one additional year.
With the money backloaded -- a seemingly fair compromise between the two sides since Reynolds was set to go through the arbitration process the next two years and not get his full market value anyway -- it would ensure the Pirates keep their All-Star outfielder at an affordable rate while they try to make the transformation of going from a rebuilding club to a competitive one.
An opt-out also runs the risk that if Reynolds is playing well or is not happy with his set up, he can just leave, while if he struggles or gets hurt, he could stay and leave the Pirates on the hook for a larger contract than what he would receive as a free agent.
Agreeing on dollars for a potential deal is quite the development given how these negotiations had gone this offseason. The Pirates made an offer of six years and approximately $80 million earlier in the offseason, while Reynolds' camp countered with an eight-year proposal north of $130 million.
After failing to make progress early, Reynolds requested a trade right before the Winter Meetings in December. The Pirates were once again willing to hear offers from other teams, though they had no serious interest in trading him.
Despite the trade request, Reynolds has reaffirmed this year that his preference would be to get a deal done with the Pirates and stay long term.
"I don’t want either side of it to come out and be like, ‘Man, they kind of got us,’ " Reynolds said about what he wants out of a new deal during the first day of spring training. "I want it to be that both sides got some skin in it."
In Bradenton, Fla. last week, Ben Cherington said the Pirates would be willing to continue negotiating a contract with a player after opening day if the player was willing to do the same. While it was Reynolds preference to do the same, the two sides have not walked away from the table since they are already so close to a deal.
Update: This story was updated at 2:40 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on March 31 to reflect that the conceptual issue was the opt-out and further details on the subject. A line that Reynolds moved further off of his original offer than the Pirates did has been removed now that more information about the agreed upon salary is known.
