Suddenly, the Pirates are spending some fairly serious money.
Pittsburgh Thursday locked up outfielder Bryan Reynolds to a new, two-year contract that could keep him in Pittsburgh at least four more seasons.
“It feels great,” said Reynolds before the Pirates’ Thursday night game against Washington. “I’m really glad that this where we landed, and can move forward through the season, and just grind.”
“I always hoped that this would be the outcome, and it is the outcome. So it’s a win-win.”
Reynolds and the Pirates had been heading for an arbitration hearing before the deal was agreed to. The two parties were reportedly squabbling over $650,000. The Pirates ended any possible tension that could have come from that by going Reynolds a reported $13.5 million over the two years of the deal.
“We respect Bryan so much as a player, as a person,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “We worked hard to settle these things before exchange, and for whatever reason we just didn’t get there this time around with Bryan. We wanted to keep the door open and see if there was a way to end a different solution. I’m thankful we did.”
“I don’t think anyone ever wants to go to a hearing,” Reynolds added. “But for me personally, I love Pittsburgh, I love my teammates. So to knock it out quickly like we did and land where we’re at, I think it worked out really well.”
The deal comes just two days after the team officially signed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract, the largest deal given out in the team’s history.
“Part of the reason why I signed is that I feel like we’re moving in the right direction,” Hayes said Thursday. “It’s amazing to have a guy like (Reynolds), middle of the order type of guy who is in contention for a gold glove, All-Star, all that stuff.
“He’s as good as they get, especially when it comes to that hitting. This year, granted both of us stay healthy, it should be really fun.”
Since joining the Pirates as part of the Andrew McCutchen trade in 2018, Reynolds has batted .289/.366/.488 with 48 home runs and 178 RBI.
He finished 11th in MVP voting in 2021 and was an All-Star for the first time.
“I’m excited,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “When you get a guy of his caliber and we get a commitment and get something off our table that we don’t have to deal with during the season — yeah, very excited. And I think, organizationally, it was a great move.”
Cherington, Shelton and the rest of the Pirates’ decision makers have spoken about the upcoming core of players and their ability to bring winning baseball back to Pittsburgh. Securing the two players who are, currently, the best of that group, seems like a strong building block for the organization going forward.
“We’re talking about two guys that exemplify things that we want in our culture, who play the game the right way and do things the way we expect,” Shelton said. “It’s really important and I think it sets a good model for us going forward.”
“We’ve got good players who are already here, we’ve got a bunch of good young guys who are in the minor leagues,” Reynolds added. “I really think we’ve got the bones to be a good, competitive team. The fact that I get to be a part of that for at least the next four years is great.”