After a months-long discussion regarding Bryan Reynolds’ future in Pittsburgh, it appears the former NL All-Star will stick in western Pennsylvania for the long haul. Per multiple outlets, the Pirates have reportedly reached an eight-year extension with the star outfielder. It’s a move that will keep a very valuable switch-hitter in Pittsburgh and set the Pirates up well over the coming years.
Related: What to Expect from Dodgers Infielder Michael Busch
A Look at Reynolds
We’ve known for quite some time that the Pirates wanted to extend Bryan Reynolds to a long-term extension, but the odds of it happening didn’t appear to be high just a few months ago. Then in December of 2022, Reynolds reportedly asked for a trade out of Pittsburgh, but the price was sky-high. The Pirates were rumored to want at least one high-end pitching prospect in return, but it didn’t seem like any other Major League team came close to the asking price.
Fast forward to this spring, and were rumblings that a contract extension between the two sides was close. However, it never got done until April 25.
A 2021 NL All-Star, Reynolds has turned into one of the game’s most valuable outfielders. Reynolds, who was originally acquired by the Pirates in the Andrew McCutchen deal five years ago, hit .314/.377/.503 with 16 home runs, 57 extra base hits, and 68 runs batted in his first season back in 2019. After a rough 2020 campaign, Reynolds responded with two 20+ home run campaigns and has been arguably the Pirates’ most valuable player in both 2021 and 2022.
Reynolds got off to a scorching start to the 2023 campaign, as he hit five home runs in his first eight games. While he hasn’t belted one since, he’s recorded a hit in all but five of his first 22 contests of the season. Over 94 PA in 2023, Reynolds batted .294/.319/.553 with five home runs, 11 extra base hits, and 18 runs batted in.
The deal will reportedly be an eight-year, $106.75 million extension that will keep Reynolds in Pittsburgh until at least 2030. Reynolds’ new contract also comes with a club option that would give him $20 million in 2031. Assuming the Pirates pick up that extra year, Pittsburgh will wipe out Reynolds’ remaining two years of arbitration — not counting 2023 — and six years after that. This contract will also come with a modified no-trade clause that will give Reynolds the ability to block a deal to six teams on an annual basis.
A Look at the Pirates
It’s a great deal for both sides, as Reynolds gets the commitment he was looking for and at a price that’s very good for the Pirates. Given what he’s done in the past and what the 28-year-old could do in the next four or five seasons, an AAV of $13.3M is quite reasonable.
The extension of Reynolds ends the months-long discussion of the outfielder’s future in Pittsburgh. Now locked up for the long-term, the Pirates can now move past the drama and ahead to what appears to be the beginning of the end of its rebuild.
Pittsburgh owns a number of very talented hitting prospects in the farm system, including Nick Gonzales, Henry Davis, and Endy Rodriguez, with the likes of Lonnie White Jr. and Termarr Johnson farther away. On the pitching side of things, the Pirates have a number of intriguing arms. Former first-round pick Quinn Priester, alongside LHP Anthony Solometo, RHP Bubba Chandler, and RHP Luis Ortiz.
The Pirates are also set to add another elite prospect to its farm in July, when Pittsburgh will pick first in the 2023 MLB Draft. The likeliest option for the Bucs is LSU star outfielder Dylan Crews, although his teammate Paul Skenes has made a push this spring for that spot. Nonetheless, the future is very bright for the Pirates — one that Reynolds will be a part of.