bryan reynolds yankees rumors
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees have been interested in trading for Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds for quite some time now. Those desires have seemingly intensified this offseason thanks to Reynolds requesting a trade out of Pittsburgh. We know New York isn’t the most natural trade fit in this situation, but that doesn’t mean something can’t come to fruition.

Unfortunately, a recent report from MLB insider Jon Morosi is not promising for Yankees fans. The Bronx Bombers are among a few teams rumored to be connected with the Pirates’ outfielder. But the Texas Rangers appear to have the upper hand:

A lack of elite pitching prospects in New York’s minor-league system has continually been a problem in these trade talks. Now it’s looking like that could be the main reason why Pittsburgh chooses to send Reynolds elsewhere.

That doesn’t mean the Yankees should give up, right? Right. On Jomboy’s Toeing the Slab podcast, David Cone essentially said New York shouldn’t do anything else until there is a resolution on the Reynolds front, one way or another:

You just get the feeling that they’re waiting on Bryan Reynolds. Whether that takes us to the trade deadline … At some point, when or if he’s going to be traded, the Yankees are going to be there waiting for him. And obviously, the acquisition cost is key for the Yankees.

Left field can wait for a minute right now and see what happens with Bryan Reynolds…Bryan Reynolds is that good. He’s that perfect fit for the Yankees that you kind of wait for him, see if that takes you to the trade deadline or not.

In the meantime, yeah, let’s filter through some guys. Some non-roster guys. Let’s see if (Aaron) Hicks can rebound. Let’s see if Oswaldo Cabrera looks like he did last year. Give him a legitimate shot. But other than that, I think they’re waiting on Bryan Reynolds at this point and however long that takes.

It doesn’t seem like the rest of the trade market has fully developed yet anyways, so yeah, why not wait and keep your hat in the ring to see what happens? I mean, who thought the Minnesota Twins would eventually end up re-signing Carlos Correa? Anything can happen these days, and that’s proof of such.

We’ve gone into detail on New York’s option for left field in recent weeks. It looks like Aaron Hicks’ job to lose, but Oswaldo Cabrera could also snatch it away from him. And who knows if the Yankees can help someone like Willie Calhoun finally realize the talent that made him a top prospect.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Yankees move forward, especially if Reynolds is dealt to a team not located in the Bronx. But the one thing they shouldn’t do is get desperate to make a move. The current situation on the roster isn’t ideal, but it’s also not the worst it could be. At the very least, they can find a way to make it work until the summer and then reassess from there.

Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.

Matt Musico is an editor for ESNY. He’s been writing about baseball and the Mets for the past decade. His work has been featured on numberFire, MetsMerized Online, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo! Sports.