Mark Madden: If Bob Nutting wanted to 'find a way' to sign Bryan Reynolds, it would be done

Spring training for the Pirates has only just started, and the horse manure is piling up as fast as the pitch clock will allow.

The attendant stooge media and subservient blogging fanboys will have you believe this will be a good season. Depends on your definition of “good,” one supposes. If avoiding 100 losses is “good,” the Pirates got a shot.

Losing only 90 would be “great,” right? (Division title? Zero chance. Wild card? Zero chance. The goals real teams aim for? Zero chance.)

Of equally repugnant fragrance is owner Bob Nutting telling said media he “would love to find a way” to sign outfielder Bryan Reynolds to a long-term deal, and that a $100 million contract for a Pirate is “definitely inside the realm of possibility.”

“Would love to find a way.” “Definitely inside the realm of possibility.”

What a crock.

Related:

• Pirates owner Bob Nutting addresses Bryan Reynolds talks, RSN collapse, payroll issues

Nutting owns the Pirates. He has final say. If he truly wanted those things to happen, they would happen immediately. Like, tomorrow.

Reynolds says there is nothing more than “casual” talk about a new contract. The Pirates reportedly offered six years, $80 million. Reynolds countered by asking for eight years, $134 million. The sides are $54 million apart.

That does not translate to “would love to find a way.” In fact, it doesn’t sound like it’s “definitely inside the realm of possibility.”

It smacks of the same old con. Selling hope.

It’s reminiscent of faux Pittsburgher Mark Cuban talking about buying the Pirates, or the Penguins, or saving the Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland. Just babble designed to maintain local street cred. If Cuban was sincere, the “O” would still be open. He could have bailed it out with his pocket change.

Lies usually serve a purpose.

Meantime, the San Diego Padres keep spending.

Pittsburgh is America’s No. 25 market. San Diego is No. 30.

Last season, the Padres’ payroll ranked fifth (out of 30) in MLB at $224.5 million. The Pirates stood 28th at $66.2 million.

The Padres just gave infielder Manny Machado an 11-year, $350 contract extension. Their owner, Peter Seidler, found a way. He didn’t just say he “would love to.”

Seidler wants to win. He’s investing in his team, its fans and in San Diego.

Nutting just takes.

Seidler’s net worth is $3 billion. Nutting’s is $1.1 billion.

But according to Forbes magazine, the Padres are worth $1.575 billion and had an operating deficit of $32 million in 2021. The Pirates are worth $1.32 billion and showed a profit of $64 million in 2021.

So if Nutting would really “love to find a way,” he could. Nutting is worth less than Seidler, but his baseball team makes more money.

But Nutting would really “love to find a way” to make even more money.

But the con rolls on, optimism stoked by the offseason return of franchise hero Andrew McCutchen, a lineup that could be a bit better, and the nonstop positive PR drooled out by the media.

That might add up to winning a few more games and selling a few more tickets.

But it won’t lead to a long-term deal for Reynolds or a $100 million contract. (The latter might happen when such deals are small potatoes by MLB’s standard.)

Heck, with AT&T SportsNet about to fold, the Pirates don’t currently have a local TV deal. (Cue less spending. That’s the excuse.)