Bryan Reynolds; Pittsburgh Pirates Outfielder
It’s already been well documented that Bryan Reynolds has requested a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates; he’s a guy Scott Harris and the Detroit Tigers should attempt to acquire before the end of the Winter Meetings this Wednesday December 7th.
Reynolds is a guy that would fill the right-handed power gap in the Tigers lineup; the kicker being, he’s actually a switch hitter.
Reynolds boasts a career .842 OPS, 127 OPS+, and 13.6 WAR. He can provide the Tigers offense with 25+ home runs, having hit 51 over the last two seasons. Reynolds also walks around a 10% rate on his career, meaning he can get on base and provide runs scored as well.
As a hitter, he uses all parts of the field. According to Baseball Savant, Reynolds has a pull rate of 39%, straight rate of 37% and an oppo rate of 24%.
He also provides solid defense at the corner outfield positions, despite having been used primarily as a center fielder by the Pirates. Between left field and right field he has posted a +10 DRS and provided 9 assists along with a .990 FLD%.
Can Scott Harris and the tigers from office get creative and strike a deal to acquire Reynolds from Pittsburgh. Harris will likely need to surrender multiple assets to acquire him, however, Reynolds will be coming to the organization with 3 more years of team control (UFA 2026) with the possibility of a contract extension as well.
I propose the following trade:
PIT Receives:
-Jackson Jobe
-Matt Manning
-Gregory Soto
DET Receives:
-Bryan Reynolds
According to Baseball Trade Values, this trade is considered to be a “major overpay” by Pittsburgh. The Total value given up by Pittsburgh being 59.90 and Detroit being 37.90. While it seems like Detroit may be giving up a lot for just Reynolds in return, he is a player that fills a major hole and Detroit has a plethora of pitchers in the system.
Jackson Jobe; Detroit Tigers No. 1 Prospect
Jackson Jobe would be the biggest piece headed to Pittsburgh in this deal. Yes, he is currently the No. 1 Prospect within the Tigers organization, however, he is still 2-3 years away from the Major Leagues. On top of this, Detroit has shown the ability to develop pitchers over the years (i.e., Verlander, Mize, Skubal).
At the Major League level, Matt Manning would be an immediate upgrade to the Pirates pitching staff. Pittsburgh did not see a single starting pitcher win more than 5 games in 2022. Currently, the Pirates only have 4 starters listed on their depth chart, meaning Manning could be plugged into the rotation immediately.
Gregory Soto; Detroit Tigers Closer
Gregory Soto has the lowest trade value according to the trade simulator; only 0.9 MTV. However, while this value currently seems low, Soto has quite a bit of upside that has yet to be fully developed. Soto, like Reynolds, still has 3 years of team control (UFA 2026), meaning he will be team friendly for an extended period of time. He’s also a left-handed pitcher who throws gas out of the pen and has 30 save potential. In fact, he’s 50 for 56 in save opportunities over the last two seasons. If Pittsburgh is happy with their closer situation, they could easily slot him in as the setup man in the 8th inning and take some of the stress off his arm. He’s also coming of back-to-back All-Star appearances.
It's been a while since we’ve had a general manager who can think creatively while attempting to strike a deal. It’s also been a long time since we’ve seen Detroit make a move that doesn’t include a player on an expiring contract. Is this the outside the box type of thinking you would like to see from the Tigers and their front office?