bryan reynolds yankees rumors
Charles LeClaire | USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees — and a whole host of other teams — would like to trade for Pirates center fielder Bryan Reynolds. So Randy Miller, who covers the Bombers for NJ.com, scooted over from Tampa to Bradenton to go chat with Reynolds at Pittsburgh’s camp.

A game of hide-and-seek ensued.

From NJ.com:

A few minutes later, Reynolds finally walked into the clubhouse. When I fast-walked his way, Reynolds sped up and headed to a back room.

After missing out, I headed to a nearby PR official and asked, “Can you get Reynolds for me? I just need him for a few minutes.”

“He’s got to do something in the trainer’s room,” I was told.

“Can I get him later?” I asked.

That question brought out the truth, the real reason Reynolds stayed out of the clubhouse. He’d been told a Yankees writer was there for an interview.

“He doesn’t want to talk about his situation,” the PR man told me.

Reynolds demanded in trade in December, but has since walked it back a bit. So we cannot blame him for wanting to avoid making things even more awkward. But the horse is pretty much out of the barn at this point.

The Pirates and him are miles apart on an extension deal. But they are also demanding the moon for him in any trade. So this awkward holding pattern figures to last for a while. And Aaron Hicks remains an everyday starter in the meantime.

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James Kratch can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.

James Kratch is the managing editor of ESNY. He previously worked as a Rutgers and Giants (and Mike Francesa) beat reporter for NJ Advance Media.