Bryan Reynolds' no-trade list revealed and it'll complicate Pirates' trade deadline

The Pittsburgh Pirates are once again poised to be sellers at the upcoming MLB trade deadline, and everyone not named Paul Skenes or Andrew McCutchen is presumed to be on the table.

This season's trade market doesn't have many quality bats available, and unfortunately, neither do the Pirates. One of the scant offensive weapons they do have is switch-hitting outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who could be of particular interest to playoff contenders looking to add some depth to their lineup.

The problem, though, is that Reynolds has the ability to block a trade to six of those contenders. The eight-year, $106.75 million contract that he signed with the Pirates in 2023 contains partial trade protection. As such, he can refuse a trade to six teams, recently revealed by Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to be the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres.

Naturally, all six of these teams are – you guessed it – playoff contenders. As such, they are likely to be buyers at the deadline, and aggressive ones at that. While it's only half a dozen teams, the contents of Reynolds' no-trade list exponentially thin the market for his services around the trade deadline, which is bad news for the Pirates.

Bryan Reynolds' no-trade list may complicate Pirates' trade deadline plans

If the Pirates were to trade Reynolds, his contract wouldn't exactly be easy to move. He is owed more than $77 million after this season, and he is currently in the middle of the worst full season of his career with a .229/.294/.378 slash line and a wRC+ of 84.

There are still plenty of teams in need of outfield help, but the combination of Reynolds' poor season stats, expensive contract and limited market for his services could mean that the Pirates won't get as many calls from rival general managers about their star outfielder as they may have expected earlier in the season.

Unless he waives his no-trade clause – which is improbable, but not impossible – it looks very likely that Reynolds will be staying put in Pittsburgh this season.

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