After more twists and turns than a country road, with a process that seemed dead in the water only a few short months ago, the Pirates and Bryan Reynolds finally have a deal.
Multiple sources told the Post-Gazette on Tuesday that the two sides have come to an agreement on a long-term extension that will pay the outfielder $106.75 million over eight years. The deal includes a modified no-trade clause with a club option in 2031.
The modified no-trade clause is effective immediately and includes six teams. It represents the first no-movement provision for a Pirates player since 2006.
If the club option is triggered, the deal could be worth a total of $124,750,000. There's also a $2 million buyout. Even without the option, it's the largest contract extension ever for an outfielder who was drafted out of college.
Per year, Reynolds will make $6.75 million in 2023; $10 million in 2024; $12 million in 2025; $14 million in 2026; $15 million from 2027-30; and $20 million if the club option is picked up for 2031.
The deal involves a record amount of money for the Pirates, who last year signed Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million extension on opening day.
Reynolds’ extension ends on-again, off-again discussions that boiled over with Reynolds’ December trade request, when talks reached an impasse over a $50-plus million gap in offers
The player’s camp wanted eight years, $134 million, while the Pirates countered with six years, $80 million, according to sources.
Frustration was so high that when owner Bob Nutting arrived in Florida for spring training, one of his primary goals was to chat face-to-face to Reynolds and repair the relationship with the Pirates’ best player.
They met around the batting cage during workouts one day at Pirate City, a short chat that both sides said was productive in clearing the air. They also agreed to say less to the media and keep more of what was happening with any potential deal in-house.
“The piece that I was most concerned about was his level of frustration in the sense that he felt disrespected by the team,” Nutting told the Post-Gazette in late February.
“If there’s a way we can bridge the gap, we’re working hard to do that. ... Bryan’s important. We want to do what’s right for him, for his family and for the team.”
Asked where things stood the next day, Reynolds said discussions had not advanced terribly far, describing it as “just talking” and explaining that he held out faint hope that common ground could be found.
“That would be great,” Reynolds said of potentially signing an extension by opening day. “Hopefully that’s something that could come to fruition. But I can’t tell the future. I don’t think anybody can. Just have to wait and see.”
From the first time he talked at spring training, Reynolds has said that he would be open to signing a deal that was fair for both sides.
“I think I’ve been pretty open the past few years about my first choice would be to sign an extension in Pittsburgh, but I want it to be a fair deal for both sides,” Reynolds said. “Not one side or the other. Not a crazy player deal. Not a crazy team deal. That’s always been my Number 1.”
The Pirates have struck a consistent tone from the time Reynolds made his trade request, explaining that they did not intend to trade him and viewed him as a valuable part of their present and future.
Privately, they were also upset that the trade request was leaked to the media.
“While it is disappointing, this will have zero impact on our decision-making this offseason or in the future,” the Pirates said in a statement issued about an hour after the request became public. “Our goal is to improve the Pirates for 2023 and beyond. With three years until he hits free agency, Bryan remains a key member of our team. We look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates.”
The Pirates acquired Reynolds — a second-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt in 2016 — from the San Francisco Giants along with Kyle Crick and future considerations for Andrew McCutchen and cash on Jan. 15, 2018.
Not that Pirates fans were eager to see McCutchen go, but what Reynolds became did lessen the sting some. He became a productive and often prolific player from the time he debuted alongside Cole Tucker on April 20, 2019, doing so after just 13 games with Triple-A Indianapolis.
While Pirates fans were focused on the affable shortstop, Reynolds and his bat provided the loudest noises over time. He hit .314 and had an .880 OPS over 134 games during a splendid debut season, producing 37 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 68 RBIs. It was enough to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
The COVID-shortened 2020 season painted an incomplete and inaccurate picture of Reynolds, a point that irritated him. Reynolds hit .189 with a .632 OPS across 55 games.
It was a much different story the following year, as Reynolds enjoyed his best season to this point: .302 average, 35 doubles, eight triples, 24 homers and 90 RBIs. In addition to producing an OPS of .912, Reynolds started in center field for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game, finished as a Gold Glove finalist and received MVP votes.
After digging out of a two-month hole to open 2022, Reynolds went on to hit a career-high 27 home runs, though he endured steps backward when it came to RBIs (62) and OPS (.807). Still, Reynolds remains an elite offensive player, one fans in Texas, New York and San Diego hoped would join their team.
Entering the second of a two-year deal that he signed at the beginning of the 2022 season, one that avoided arbitration, the outfielder will make a very team-friendly $6.75 million in 2023.
His salaries the next two seasons would have been determined through arbitration, though obviously that’s a moot point now.
Having Reynolds and Hayes under contract means the Pirates have a talented, two-headed nucleus around which to build. It also bucks plenty of public sentiment where it was assumed that they would move on from Reynolds and either trade him later this season or at another point over the next handful of years.
They can now shift their attention to playing better baseball in 2023, doing so with a group of veterans added over the winter and also an emerging group of young talent, including the likes of Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras and Mitch Keller — players Reynolds thinks can grow into winners in Pittsburgh.
“We’re closer than people on the outside might think,” Reynolds told the Post-Gazette last August. “I want to stay here. I haven’t hidden it, so hopefully that’s the plan. I think we’re gonna win here soon, and I want to be part of it.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: April 25, 2023, 3:43 p.m.
