Insider: Toronto Blue Jays "Team To Watch Most Closely" In Trade Talks For All-Star

The Toronto Blue Jays have been very quiet this offseason, with their only move being to trade away slugging outfielder Teoscar Hernandez shortly after the end of the season. But there's a trade candidate that would fill that hole quite nicely for them: highly in-demand outfielder Bryan Reynolds of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 2021 All-Star who had a career-high 27 home runs in 2022 requested a trade out of Pittsburgh last week. MLB Insider Jon Morosi says the Jays are the team to watch.

"The team I'm watching most carefully with Bryan Reynolds and a possible trade is the Toronto Blue Jays," said Morosi on MLB Network on Friday. "For a variety of reasons: The Jays traded away Teoscar Hernandez; there is a gaping hole in their outfield right now. They would ideally like to get somebody who can bat from the left side, and play center field to potentially push George Springer to a corner... Reynolds checks both boxes.

"The other key reason why it's a great fit: remember this, the two key decision-makers for the Pirates are Ben Cherrington and Steve Sanders. The previous organization they were with before going to Pittsburgh? The Toronto Blue Jays. (Cherrington and Sanders) know their prospects better than anybody."

He goes on to say that the Jays would have to surrender one of their top two prospects, left-handeRicky Tiedemann or infielder Orelvis Martinez. 

"Reynolds is at the peak of his value," added Morosi, "which, if anything, makes him easier to trade. Negotiations towards a contract extension have gone nowhere."

President Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins have (rightfully) suffered a public relations beating over the last couple of weeks for their inaction while AL East contenders around them have been improving. 

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