Japanese Team Signs Pirate R.J. Reynolds for $1.3 Million

PITTSBURGH —  Outfielder R. J. Reynolds, who priced himself out of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ financial ballpark, signed a one-year contract today worth $1.3 million with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales of the Japanese League.

Reynolds, who recently became a free agent, played this month on a major league all-star team’s eight-game exhibition tour of Japan.

Reynolds’ contract is worth nearly twice the Pirates’ two-year, $1.7-million offer.

“I’m not surprised,” Pirates General Manager Larry Doughty said. “R. J. was just looking for an opportunity to make significant dollars. That was probably the best he was going to get.”

Reynolds’ agent, Dennis Gilbert, asked the Pirates for a three-year, $4-million contract, then criticized them for their low-ball offer.

“I asked R. J. if he would accept a two-year deal for eight (hundred thousand) and nine (hundred thousand). He said yes, he would,” Pirates Manager Jim Leyland said. “But when we talked to his agent, he came back with four (million) for three (years).”

Gilbert is also the agent for Pirates’ All-Star Bobby Bonilla, who can become a free agent after the 1991 season.

Reynolds, a former Dodger who played for the Pirates for 5 1/2 seasons, was the team’s fourth outfielder last year, hitting .288 with no home runs and 19 RBIs in 215 at-bats. He hit .269 with nine homers and 48 RBIs in 1986 as a part-time starter.

How Reynolds’ departure will affect the defending National League East champions will be determined “by who we sign and who we don’t sign,” Leyland said.

“Gary Redus probably could become the fourth outfielder, but we’re at the mercy of the free-agent market,” Leyland said.