Bryan Reynolds Rumors: Dodgers Would Need to Say Goodbye to Bobby Miller in Possible Trade

The Dodgers have an opening in center field, and one of the best-hitting center-fielders in baseball has requested that his lousy team kindly trade him. At first glance, it seems like a perfect fit.

But as Jon Morosi is reporting, the Pirates have a say in whether they’ll actually trade Bryan Reynolds, and they’e not going to make it cheap if they do.

If #Pirates trade Bryan Reynolds this offseason, they’re looking for at least one top starting pitcher to headline the package — such as Bobby Miller (#Dodgers) or Ricky Tiedemann (#BlueJays), both of whom rank among the top 40 prospects in @MLB, per @MLBPipeline.@MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 22, 2022

It makes sense that Pittsburgh would want Bobby Miller if they swung a trade with the Dodgers, but it’s unclear whether L.A. would include him in a deal. Miller has top-of-the-rotation upside, and they’ve resisted overtures from every team that has tried to pry him away from them so far. Reynolds is a very good player, but I’m not sure he’s so good they should give up Miller just as he’s about to reach the big leagues.

It’s worth noting, of course, that quantity can often outweigh quality in a trade offer. A week before Manny Machado was traded to the Dodgers in 2018, Morosi tweeted this:

Source: In Manny Machado trade talks, #Orioles have asked that #Indians include one of the organization’s top young pitchers, Triston McKenzie or Shane Bieber, who has a 3.47 ERA in six @MLB starts and is currently on the 25-man roster. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 11, 2018

Triston McKenzie was a top-40 prospect at the time, and Shane Bieber was already establishing himself as a big-leaguer. Los Angeles ended up winning the Machado sweepstakes with a five-player package that didn’t include of their most highly ranked prospects. The current Dodgers system is defined more by depth than anything else, so they’re more likely to go with a similar package in their offers for Reynolds.

Would the Pirates take a package highlighted by Ryan Pepiot if there were enough other prospects included? It’s tough to say. But the fact that they’re currently saying “Bobby Miller” doesn’t mean that will be their final endpoint.

(Also, with the Bue Jays acquiring Daulton Varsho from the DBacks on Friday, their need for Reynolds probably went way down, and less competition for Reynolds could also drive the price down for L.A.)

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