The Pirates payroll is always the center of just about any discussion about the team. The Pirates are a small-market team, and they can’t — or won’t — have a payroll that gives them a legitimate chance at sustained success.
That’s why they have to build for certain windows of success and why they always have a built-in excuse when they have a bad season or underperform. It is also the reason why they have almost no margin for error when they make decisions on contracts for certain players.
It is also why this year’s team is so frustrating to watch, as they have actually given money to some players, increased their payroll and paid for at least one luxury item, and it has blown up in their face.
This was on full display Sunday in the Pirates’ disaster of a 5-4 loss in extra innings to the Cubs. Everything that is wrong with the Pirates payroll this year contributed to that loss.
Let’s start with Bryan Reynolds, who is in Year 2 of an 8-year, $106.8 million deal, the largest (by a lot) contract they have ever signed a player to. Reynolds was supposed to be the Pirates’ best (or second-best) player, a steady performer and someone they can rely on to get big hits in key spots to win games.
Reynolds so far has not come close to living up to his deal, and his recent struggles are as much of a reason the Pirates are mired in a slump as anything. He is 2 for 19 over the last five games (the Pirates are 1-4 in those games), has zero home runs and hasn’t driven in a run.
Sunday, with the game on the line — a tie game in the bottom of the ninth with bases loaded — Reynolds meekly grounded to the pitcher for an easy fielder’s choice forceout at home. That was the second out of the inning, and Oneil Cruz lined out next to end the inning.
Reynolds hit five times Sunday, four of those at-bats with runners on base, and he went 0 for 5 in a game the Pirates lost by one run. He needs to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem, and given that he is the highest-paid position player on the roster, the Pirates need him to come through in these situations.
Reynolds is actually the second-highest-paid player overall on the team, as Aroldis Chapman will make $500,000 more than he does at $10.5 million. Chapman has not come close to living up to his contract, either, and Sunday, he took the ball to start the 10th with the game tied 2-2. By the time he left, the Pirates were down 4-2 with two men on.
Chapman was a weird signing to begin with, as I didn’t understand why a team who doesn’t spend any money was giving a big contract to a relief pitcher who isn’t even a closer. Chapman has not been good at all, looks like he may be washed up and could end up being one of the worst signings of the Ben Cherington era.
Those two players account for a quarter of the Pirates payroll, and that is why it is such a problem that they haven’t exactly produced at a level anywhere close to their salary. The Pirates, with limited resources, handed them $20.5 million for this season at the expense of being able to sign some other players who might actually help.
They aren’t the only two, however, as Andrew McCutchen at $5 million is a designated hitter that is hitting .191; Rowdy Tellez at $3.2 million has been horrific; and even David Bednar, at $4.5 million, has struggled.
Add all of that up, and we are talking about $33 million of a payroll of about $80 million that has underperformed, and I can’t imagine that is what Bob Nutting had in mind when he OK’d these contracts.
It is easy to point to the Pirates’ lack of spending as the reason they don’t succeed, and while I believe that is often overstated, there is some merit to it.
But the larger issue this year isn’t that they haven’t spent money; it is that they finally have spent a little bit of it and spent it on players who haven’t come through. That could be an indictment of their inability to properly scout major-league talent or it could be just that some of these players are having a down year and will rebound a little bit as the season moves forward.
I have serious doubts about that because McCutchen and Chapman are old and on the downside of their careers, and Tellez is just not very good.
Reynolds should improve, though he has been very streaky for a lot of his career and has far too many of these stretches of “meh” for my liking. Bednar just doesn’t seem like he has been fully healthy, so he could improve, as well, but that isn’t a guarantee because lingering arm injuries can be an issue.
The Pirates believe they are a team that can contend, but they have no chance of going anywhere if their highest-paid players don’t perform and come through at key moments in key games.
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com and @paulzeise on X
First Published: May 13, 2024, 6:37 p.m.
