Just months ago, Bryan Reynolds seemed unlikely to remain with Pirates

A vivid account of what happened in real time, day by day, capturing how Bryan Reynolds went from requesting a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates back in November to inking the franchise’s most lucrative contract ever this week is starting to come to light.

Being tight-lipped is a trait shared by Reynolds, general manager Ben Cherington as well as Pirates chairman Bob Nutting, so there are some direct specifics of what exactly transpired between the club and the 28-year-old outfielder will likely remain difficult to piece together.

That said, clues exist. And Reynolds, Cherington and Nutting have all helped to fill in the gaps to an extent with their remarks on the matter.

What’s known for sure is that both Reynolds and Nutting as individuals worked hard to come to an agreement, which resulted in an eight-year, $106.75-million contract — the Pirates’ first to eclipse nine-figures — announced officially Wednesday.

In the current era of professional sports, athletes are increasingly empowered to request or demand trades whenever it suits them, with Reynolds himself playing that card last winter.

However, in the span of roughly five months, the historically frugal Pirates managed to mollify a key player, locking him down through 2030 (with a club option for 2031) as well as convincing him that the franchise is on a path toward competing and winning in the near future.

“Me and Bob had a few personal conversations that I think were really important to the whole situation,” Reynolds said. “So, we were able to share things about where we were at. But the main thing is that we both had the same ultimate desire, and I think once we realized that, we realized that this was something that needed to get done.”

Consumers of information trickling out from the behind-closed-doors negotiations would have been forgiven for not holding out much hope that anything would “get done.”

Per MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Reynolds and the Pirates initially were on opposite ends of about $50 million with regards to what the club offered and what Reynolds himself sought.

That was on top of the frustration Reynolds felt with the Pirates coming off of back-to-back 100-loss seasons for the first time since doing so in three consecutive campaigns from 1952-54.

Thus, the Pirates making what could fairly be described as a team-friendly offer, combined with the state of the franchise, didn’t appear to lend optimism to the prospects of Reynolds signing.

“There’s probably a point in every negotiation where you’re not sure,” Cherington said. “There’s dark hours before the dawn or whatever you want to say. But I don’t think that we ever gave up, nor obviously did Bryan ever give up.

“What I was hearing from him, even through times that may have been more challenging in the process … was that he really did have a desire to be here. And if there was ever frustration, it was just out of that desire to be here.”

For Reynolds, offseason moves that the Pirates made — retooling both the starting rotation and bullpen in addition to signing key veterans like Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen — served as reassuring evidence of management’s commitment to fielding a more competitive club.

Additionally, as he navigates through his fifth season with the Pirates, Reynolds, his wife, Blair, and their sons, Reese and Brooks, have come to identify Pittsburgh as a home away from home, which is primarily Tennessee.

“Both of our crazy little boys have been born here, so a little piece of us will always be here,” Reynolds said. “So it’s nice that we know where we’re going to be for a long time.”

“ … I’m really excited about what we’re building, what the team can be and what we’re already doing and just what the future holds.”