According to a report, Pirates owner Bob Nutting is hoping to avoid the planned arbitration hearing with Pirates All-Star center fielder Bryan Reynolds.
Post-Gazette Pirates insider Jason Mackey says that multiple sources tell him that Nutting is "disappointed" that a hearing is currently the plan.
Mackey says that his sources say that he knows that the organization taking Reynolds to arbitration over a difference of $650,000 looks bad to both the fans and fellow Pirates players for morale. Reynolds submitted $4.9 million and the Pirates came back with an offer of $4.25.
The Pirates' utilize a strategy with arbitration unofficially known as "file and trial."
MLB.com says that means the team "treat the arbitration figure exchange date as a hard deadline; if the club and player are unable to avoid arbitration prior to exchanging salary figures, the understanding is that the will club no longer negotiate one-year deals with that player. However, that is not a binding decision and the team and players are always allowed to resume negotiation on a one-year or multi-year deal."
Mackey says while Nutting has "respect" for the way the Pirates operate, he's worried about what the hearing could mean for their relationship with Reynold in the future and the way the team is perceived by fans.
Reynolds batted .302 in 2021 with 169 hits, 90 RBI, 24 home runs, 35 doubles and led the Majors in triples (along with Shohei Ohtani and David Peralta) with eight with an OPS of .912.
Avoiding arbitration with Reynolds would be another win for the Pirates and their perception.
They reportedly signed third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract extension Thursday.
