Tag: pittsburgh pirates

Yankees eye Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds amid ‘unrealistic asks’

The Yankees, still needing an outfielder, are among teams consistently interested in Pirates star Bryan Reynolds, who seeks a trade.

One interested team exec summed up the Pirates requests in two words: “unrealistic asks.” Another team’s exec says there’s nothing happening now but they hold hope for spring.

It’s not surprising the ask is high since the Pirates don’t seem especially interested in trading him as they hope to contend within the three years he has left. Plus, it would be difficult publicly. Perhaps, too, the Pirates don’t want to accede to trade demands, which they may fear will trigger a trend.

While sources say the Pirates offered over $75 million for six years with no team options, Reynolds’ camp originally mentioned the $168 million, eight-year deal Matt Olson received as a comp (though their request was lower than that). The Braves did sign Sean Murphy for $73 million over six years (plus a team option), and Murphy is in the same class as Olson. (The Reynolds camp would counter that that deal is low.)

The Pirates love Reynolds and presumably would like to resume talks, but the trade request remains.

Bryan Reynolds
USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox were indeed intent on keeping Rafael Devers, as Chaim Bloom told us here a couple weeks ago. But there’s no doubt the $280 million Xander Bogaerts deal forced them to go much higher than they originally intended. The $168M Olson deal actually was seen a while back as an original team comp before the $212M Austin Riley deal likely moved Boston into the mid-$200M range, and the Bogaerts (and others) contract raised the ante further. At this point “it had to be $300 million minimum,” says a rival exec. …

Elvis Andrus could fit for the Angels who still seek a shortstop. The Red Sox, Dodgers and Twins may also make sense for a SS.

There are still decent first basemen left: Yuli Gurriel, Brandon Belt, Trey Mancini, Jesus Aguilar and Miguel Sano. The Marlins may be in the 1B market.

Yasiel Puig is hoping he can resurface in MLB after his Korean team, the Kiwoom Heroes, moved on.

Ex-Cubs star Addison Russell is replacing Puig on that Korean team. …

Matt Harvey is hoping to pitch again this year.

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Pirates’ Eric Stout prepared for boos after Aaron Judge walk

How do you tick off 46,175 New Yorkers in the middle of an eight-run Yankees eighth inning? You walk Aaron Judge.

Judge’s fourth at-bat Wednesday night came and went anticlimactically in the seventh inning, when he grounded out on the first pitch to him from the Pirates’ Miguel Yajure. The main reason most of the fans at Yankee Stadium had stuck around was to watch Judge attempt to match Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs.

After that groundout, the assumption was that the chase would continue for another night. Then, however, the Yankees came up in the eighth and started hitting. And all of a sudden, Judge — the eighth batter due up when the inning began — got to the plate for a fifth time.

Cue the standing, the buzz, that anticipation. Who cared about the score, which ended up 14-2? The Pirates were falling victim to an avalanche, with six Yankees runs already having scored in the inning, a man on second and one out. It looked to be Judge’s moment.

Eric Stout, though, didn’t let that happen. The lefty reliever said afterwards he wasn’t thinking about 61, Maris or any of that. But he sure did pitch as if he were, walking Judge on four pitches that weren’t especially close to the zone.

Aaron Judge got one last shot at hitting No. 61 on Wednesday, but got a walk instead.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Eric Stout heard the boos rain down from the Yankee Stadium crowd after his eighth-inning walk of Aaron Judge.
John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock

“The changeup’s been a good pitch for me this season,” Stout said. “I think that was the game plan going into the at-bat. Regardless of nobody on, bases loaded, doesn’t really matter. I got [Anthony] Rizzo behind him as a lefty. With a base open, I’m very good versus lefties this year. That was more of the approach.

“I’m not gonna give in [on] 2-0, 3-0, throw him something, regardless of who it is, especially with a lefty on deck. So that was the approach.”

The crowd responded accordingly, booing as few crowds have ever booed in the latter stages of a blowout by the home team.

“Yeah, I kind of figured that’s what the crowd reaction was gonna be,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I’ve been to Yankee Stadium a lot of times. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody stay when the score’s like that, but you know, there was everybody in the ballpark.”

Even though the crowd left disappointed not to have witnessed history, fans did see Judge double twice, reach base three times and score twice. Following his 60th home run on Tuesday, that added up to this assessment from Shelton when asked about how his 55-94 ballclub handled Judge:

“I mean,” Shelton said, “he hit the one home run. … You have to be able, not only with him, but with the entire lineup, you have to be able to execute pitches.

“We didn’t.”

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