Cody Snavely
While most of the top free agents are gone signing with other teams and the Dodgers outfield is in limbo, with the only concrete position being Betts in left field, the rumor mill is overflowing with numerous names. However, one such name that has been linked to the Dodgers has been Bryan Reynolds.
The Dodgers have been retooling a considerable chunk of their roster this off-season, departing with fan favorites such as Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger and letting all-star shortstop Trea Turner sign with the N.L. champion Phillies. However, LA’s most significant question mark is the outfield. As it stands now, Betts will obviously be the starting right fielder, with a combination of Trayce Thompson, James Outman, and Chris Taylor sharing the duties in center and left. Ideally, this is not what most Dodgers fans would want, especially after a 111-win season that saw them eliminated by the Padres, who have gotten considerably better on paper.
During the Winter meetings, it was apparent that young star outfielder Bryan Reynolds informed the Pirates that he wanted to be traded, which has sparked serious interest from various teams, including the Dodgers. However, I think Bryan Reynolds is not worth the heavy asking price the Pirates are rumored to be asking for. In an athletic article posted by Rob Biertempfel and Jim Bowden, a suggested trade for Bryan Reynolds with L.A. is as follows “Reynolds to Dodgers for RHP Bobby Miller, OF Jose Ramos and LHP Maddux Bruns.” What makes this trade proposal more laughable is Rob Biertempfel’s reasoning as he states, “If I’m Cherington, I find as many opportunities as possible to mention the Dodgers’ crushing loss to the Padres last year in the National League Division Series. Would Reynolds be the missing ingredient that gets L.A. to the World Series in 2023? Who knows, but maybe stirring up those bad memories would spur the Dodgers brain trust to act.”
We have already seen in years past that Andrew Freidman and the Dodgers front office do not make hasty decisions based on what other teams have done, especially after the Dodgers went 14-5 against those same Padres in 2022. It has been rumored that the Pirates want frontline starting pitching in a deal with Reynolds, according to Jon Morosi. Given the Pirates’ horrible trade history in the past, it is reasonable they want to correct that by asking L.A. for a king’s ransom.
While Reynolds is a young, controllable player and who hits very well for an MLB center fielder, the Dodgers, if they were to acquire Reynolds, would more than likely shift him to left due to his disastrous defensive sabermetrics in center. In Reynolds’ career, he has a -10 defensive WAR which would diminish his value significantly. The Dodgers also likely view Bobby Miller as untouchable, especially since he is ready to make his debut in 2023.
While I believe every prospect is tradable trading, a highly touted prospect in Miller would be a mistake for the player that Byran Reynolds is. Another reason going against a trade for Reynolds is that the Dodgers have had multiple 100-plus win seasons with little to no outfield production in center; the Dodgers did just fine and could certainly bet that James Outman would put up better production than Bellinger did in the past two seasons.
Speaking of James Outman, we did get a sneak peek last year in a short stint with the club, where he fought a lot of people’s attention, hitting .462 with three RBI in four games where he also blasted a home run in his first Major League at-bat. Outman has also had the reputation of being a very great defensive center fielder and put up great numbers in the minors last season, hitting .294 with 31 doubles and 31 home runs.
While Reynolds is a great young player and would certainly fill a few holes in the Dodgers roster, I do not think he is worth the price the Pirates are asking for, and the Dodgers ultimately feel the same way. While I think the Dodgers will likely add another bat in the outfield, expect it to be a free agent such as AJ Pollock or trade with another ball club.
