It's an arms race in New York. With the New York Mets spending an unfathomable amount of money in free agency to bolster their squad, the New York Yankees aim not to be outdone. While they have already fulfilled their most important bit of business in re-signing Aaron Judge and signing Carlos Rodon, the Yankees are still not finished adding to a team that won 99 games last season. Enter Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds.
The Yankees are still engaged in trade talks with the Pirates for Reynolds, the 27-year old centerfielder, per Jon Morosi. However, a trade between the two parties might be easier said than done. Morosi added that a huge obstacle in negotiations is the Pirates' desire to add to their starting pitcher prospect depth. In contrast, the Yankees' top prospects are headlined by position players, led by middle infielder Anthony Volpe.
In fact, of the Yankees' top 10 prospects, per Fangraphs, only two are starting pitchers. Those two are Yoendrys Gomez, a 23-year old who only recently broke through to Double-A, and 2022 draftee Drew Thorpe, who is a long way away from the majors.
Thus, it remains to be seen if the Pirates and Yankees find a reasonable middle ground. It's not a guarantee that the Pirates are even interested in the Yankees' pitching prospects as well. Nevertheless, Bryan Reynolds has three years of team control left, so the Pirates will be holding out for a solid return.
Reynolds had a down year in 2022, suffering a drop-off in overall offensive impact despite tallying a career-high in home runs. Sabermetrics do not rate his defense highly as well. Still, Reynolds is only two years removed from an elite 2021 season. The Yankees, or other prospective buyers, will be hoping that that season won't be a mere outlier.
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