The Los Angeles Dodgers have continued looking for a center fielder on the trade market, and the top option available is Bryan Reynolds from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
L.A. would ideally like to add a left-handed or switch-hitter, and Reynolds fits the bill as someone who can bat from either side of the plate. He also requested a trade from the Pirates this offseason, but they are hesitant to move him without an overpay.
Reynolds is a talented player who remains under team control through the 2025 season, so the Pirates are well within their rights to ask for a significant haul if they do trade the 27-year-old star.
Their farm system is also deep in position players, so the Pirates are reportedly looking for a top pitching prospect back if they do move Reynolds, which suggests they may want Bobby Miller from the Dodgers, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network:
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
Miller was picked by the Dodgers 29th overall in the 2020 MLB draft and has risen through the prospect rankings.
He began the 2022 season with Double-A Tulsa and went 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 11.6 strikeouts per nine in 91 innings pitched (20 games, 19 starts) prior to earning a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The right-hander then went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA over three starts for the Dodgers’ top affiliate. Although the numbers have not been incredibly impressive, Miller has top-of-the-rotation type stuff with a fastball that reaches the triple-digits.
Gavin Stone is another Dodgers pitching prospect who could potentially headline a Reynolds trade, but he presumably has less value than Miller. The Dodgers remain high on Stone as well and may prefer to keep him instead of trading additional prospects to make up the perceived value difference between their two top pitching prospects.
Reynolds is a career .281/.361/.481 hitter with a 126 wRC+. He took a step back both offensively and defensively during the 2022 season from his star level 2021, but he was still a quality hitter, batting .262/.345/.461 with a 125 wRC+.
Clayton Kershaw trusts Andrew Friedman despite quiet offseason
Although the Dodgers were linked to many of the top free agents, they missed out on all of them and appear content with staying under the luxury tax threshold to reset the penalties moving forward.
While it has not been the offseason any Dodgers fan hoped for, Clayton Kershaw reiterated his confidence in president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to build a winning team.
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