According to reports, the Pirates are rejecting offers for two of their top stars.
The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel says that Pittsburgh has rejected “tempting” offers for closer and All-Star David Bednar and center fielder Bryan Reynolds.
Reynolds is currently batting .261 after a slow start to the season. He has 32 RBI with 15 home runs and is slugging .465.
Acquired by the Giants in the trade for Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates have been likely getting offers for Reynolds since last season.
The Pirates were able to avoid arbitration with Reynolds recently that covers this season and next season.
After that, the Pirates have two more years of control on Reynolds that goes through the 2025 season. He will be 31 at that point.
Reynolds left Sunday’s 8-6 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers with “right side discomfort.”
The New York Yankees are among the teams reportedly interested in Reynolds.
Bednar, who came over in the trade with the San Diego Padres for Joe Musgrove, has a 2.63 ERA over 41 innings. He’s 3-2 with 55 strike outs over 34 games.
He is the Pirates lone representative in the All-Star Game at this point.
According to various reports, the asking price for Reynolds and Bednar are very high.
At 27, Reynolds could still be the centerpiece of the next successful Pirates team, but he also isn’t as young as Ke’Bryan Hayes, who at 25 has a deal that keeps him in Pittsburgh until 2030, when he’s 33.
Bednar, 27, is under team control in 2023 and then has three years of arbitration.