With Bryan Reynolds contract talks at standstill, Pirates owner Bob Nutting pushing for deal

BRADENTON, Fla. — Bryan Reynolds had casual conversations with Pittsburgh Pirates chairman Bob Nutting and team president Travis Williams this past week at Pirate City but said that no substantive contract extension discussions have resumed.

“There’s been no talks like that, so nothing really to report there,” Ryenolds said Saturday morning at LECOM Park, hours before the Grapefruit League opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. “We’re just talking. They’re both good people. Just having casual talks more than anything.”

Nutting is holding out hope that the Pirates can change that.

Reynolds, 28, requested a trade in November after contract talks broke down. Reynolds confirmed reports that there was a substantial gap in what the Pirates offered ($80 million over six years, an annual average value of $13.3 million) and what he was seeking ($134 million over eight years, an AAV of $16.75 million).

The All-Star outfielder is in the second year of a two-year, $13.5 million deal signed last April and has two years of arbitration remaining. Last week, Reynolds said his trade request stands but noted that he’s open to a “fair deal for both sides.”

Pirates chairman Bob Nutting talks with outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who requested a trade in the off-season, before batting practice Monday morning at Pirate City. pic.twitter.com/AJqo2LKSAu

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 20, 2023

“Is there an opportunity to find a deal that is fair? One hundred percent. Is it assured that we’re all going to agree on what that deal is? So far, that’s been a challenge,” Nutting told the Tribune-Review on Saturday afternoon. “I’m not good at predicting where we end up, but I certainly am rooting for, hoping for and pushing for something to get done.”

Nutting spoke with Reynolds behind home plate at Pie Traynor Field at Pirate City before batting practice Monday. Williams spent some time chatting with Reynolds on a bench outside Roberto Clemente Field on Wednesday.

“Me and Bob talked on the field the other day — I think everybody got a picture of it — but it was a good talk. He’s a good guy,” Reynolds said. “We were just talking about things, I guess trying to smooth everything over.”

Reynolds said he hasn’t had any discussions over concrete numbers but rather “friendly conversation.” Reynolds also said that he isn’t aware of whether Nutting is personally involved in any negotiations.

“I don’t know,” Reynolds said. “It hasn’t gone down the rabbit hole very far, so that’s something you’d have to ask him.”

Although there remains a $54 million gap between the parties in total salary, the difference in the average annual value is less than $4 million per season. Nutting said he doesn’t think it’s “appropriate or fair to negotiate or talk about numbers publicly,” but hopes that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and Reynolds’ representatives can work out an agreement to keep Reynolds in Pittsburgh.

“We try very hard to filter out those emotional outputs,” Nutting told the Trib. “It’s not really what matters. What matters to me is that Bryan knows, and I hope he does after this week, how much we appreciate what he’s doing for the team, how much we respect him as a person and a player. He really is a good baseball player. He really is a dedicated, hard-working, wonderful part of the team. And we would love to find a way to make that work.

“At the same time, the formal process, I really respect Ben and that whole team to be able to work through and put together. It has to make sense for Bryan, for his family and for the team – and I know they’re working through that.”