BRADENTON, Fla. — For the first time since 2017, the Pirates are likely to have an arbitration case on their hands. And it probably won’t excite fans much because it involves the team’s best player, Bryan Reynolds.
The Pirates and Reynolds were unable to come to terms on a contract for 2022 by Tuesday’s deadline and will continue the arbitration process via hearing, at a time and date to be announced later, a source told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Major League Baseball teams technically had until 1 p.m. to file figures, and the large majority came to terms on contracts. That includes reliever Chris Stratton, the Pirates’ only other arbitration-eligible player, who will make $2.7 million, according to another source.
The Pirates employ what’s known around the industry as a file-and-trial strategy, where the two sides exchange figures on this date, and, if they can’t agree, there’s no more discussion about a one-year deal until the hearing.
According to figures made public late Tuesday, the Pirates filed for $4.25 million, while Reynolds' ask was $4.9 million.
The only thing that would override that would be if they somehow agreed on a long-term contract. It’s not terribly likely, however, as Reynolds and the club have talked about his future, and nothing to this point has gained serious traction.
Arbitration often frustrates both fans and players, although it is part of baseball’s economic landscape.
Players don’t like how they have to sit in a room with their employer and hear about all the things they don’t do well. Fans, meanwhile, just want to know their favorite players are going to stick around. Teams argue that if they simply rolled over in these talks, player salaries would be astronomical.
The best-case scenario, of course, would be for Reynolds and the Pirates to somehow agree on something longer-term before an in-season hearing, avoiding the process that Tony Watson went through in 2017.
This was unquestionably a breakout year for Reynolds, who finished 11th in National League MVP voting. It probably should’ve been higher considering he was one of just seven NL players to finish in the top 10 in four categories typically used to quantify offensive leaders. Reynolds was tied for fifth in FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement (5.5), sixth in Baseball Reference’s calculation (6.0), sixth in OPS (.912) and tied for fifth in wRC+ (142) among NL hitters.
Only Bryce Harper (77) and Nick Castellanos (72) had more extra-base hits than Reynolds (67), who led all MLB center fielders with 82 RBIs at that position.
It goes without saying that Reynolds, 27, led the Pirates in batting (.302), home runs (24), RBIs (90, which includes his time at all positions) and games played in 2021 (159). Reynolds tied Shohei Ohtani and David Peralta for the major league lead in triples with eight.
Defensively, Reynolds became a Gold Glove finalist in center field, where he played the most innings among National League center fielders (1,113⅔) and also had the most chances (329) of anyone at that position.
Reynolds, who started the MLB All-Star Game in Denver, made just two errors and had a .994 fielding percentage — both tops in the National League.
The Pirates acquired Reynolds as part of the Andrew McCutchen trade in January 2018. They acquired Stratton for cash from the Angels on May 11, 2019.
Stratton, 31, led the team in both wins (7) and appearances (68), going 7-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 79⅓ innings. Stratton struck out 86, walked 33 and earned eight saves. Opponents hit just .233 off Stratton, who had a 1.30 WHIP.
The 109⅓ innings Stratton has pitched over the last two seasons are tied with Chad Green of the Yankees for the most among MLB relievers, and the right-hander had a 30-game stretch where his ERA was just 1.38 ERA.
MLB Trade Rumors projected Reynolds to make $4.5 million and Stratton $2.2 million via arbitration, a system offering larger salaries for players with between three and six years of MLB service time — plus the top 22% of those with between two and three.
The number of recent arbitration cases has dwindled, with just nine hearings taking place last offseason. After 22 in 2018, there were that many total from 2019-20 and just nine last year, with teams winning five. Teams are 51-48 against players over the past 99 arbitration hearings.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: March 22, 2022, 7:15 p.m.