One represents the first $100 million player in franchise history. The other has a net worth exceeding $1 billion. Neither wants to be the center of attention. Yet on Wednesday afternoon, Bryan Reynolds and Pirates owner Bob Nutting sat side by side at a table inside the media room at PNC Park, the two bonded by a process that brought them to this moment.
On the surface, Reynolds and Nutting seem to have little in common. Some type of fishing, perhaps. But they’re actually more similar than you might think. They’re convicted in their beliefs. They’re unconcerned with popularity. And their desire to see the Pirates flourish brought them to this particular moment.
“We’ve had this discussion several times over the last few months,” Nutting said, speaking directly to Reynolds. “I hope I was able — and we were able — to make it clear to you how much we want you to be part of this organization. That’s one thing that has never wavered through any of the discussions.
“We respect you. We appreciate you. And we want to have you here as a Pittsburgh Pirate. I could not be more thrilled that we’re sitting here today.”
The Reynolds extension — eight years, $106.75 million, plus a club option for 2031 — means plenty throughout the organization. General manager Ben Cherington and the rest of baseball operations has cost certainty, plus two terrific players to build around in Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Manager Derek Shelton also need not worry about left field, third base or the first couple spots of his batting order for a long time. Cherington and Shelton were understandably thrilled because stuff like this was what they expected when they signed on.
But anyone who thought this extension was some sort of slam dunk is either lying or joking.
“It seemed perfectly smooth and easy to me, Ben,” Nutting joked when asked what got these monthslong talks across the finish line.
“Yeah,” Cherington added. “I don’t know what you're talking about.”
What closed this deal — more than anything else — was Reynolds genuinely wanting to be here, then Nutting and the Pirates making Reynolds and his family know that he was wanted here. How they went about doing that warrants some discussion.
‘Not my forte’
There’s a good chance Reynolds would’ve rather pitched against the Dodgers or swept the stands than been the center of attention in a gigantic room, eyes and cameras trained on him, capturing his every word.
“Now the fun part,” Reynolds said before taking his turn with introductions. “This is not my forte, but here we go.”
The moment actually offered a peek into Reynolds as a person, the no-nonsense type who’s way more interested in letting his play do the talking than delivering speeches.
Reynolds started by thanking his wife, Blair, for looking after the couple’s sons, Reese and Brooks, who were “not causing too much mayhem” in the front row. He also thanked his agents, parents and sister for “raising him right” and God for making “everything in my life line up to this point.”
Appreciation of Nutting, president Travis Williams, Cherington and senior vice president of baseball operations Bryan Stroh followed. Reynolds also made sure to thank his teammates and the Pirates coaching staff.
“I’m really excited about what we’re building, what the team can be, what we’re already doing and what the future holds,” Reynolds said.
That much has been clear for years with Reynolds — that he genuinely wanted to be in Pittsburgh. His eyes lit up when he said it at the 2021 All-Star Game, seated next to Adam Frazier across from Coors Field. He has since repeated it a bunch.
Sure, Reynolds could’ve gone year to year, reached free agency and tried to cash in on some sort of deal. It also wasn’t his preference. The goal for Reynolds, his parents and his agency has always been to stay here, that December trade request now viewed as strategy more than anything.
“I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t weigh a little bit on me,” Reynolds said of the contract talks. “I’m pumped to have the situation resolved and be resolved in this manner to where we’re all sitting up here together and talking about the future.”
Meantime, Reynolds doesn’t plan on changing. The intensity will remain. Like when he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in a lopsided game in Denver. Or the countless days Reynolds spends in the cage or on the field with hitting coach Andy Haines, obsessed with the process and trying to get better.
For while Reynolds doesn’t have the flash of some other players, life as a Pirate suits him. Not only does his family love it here — his boys born in Pittsburgh, the whole group given their space and the Pirates seemingly on the cusp of something special — but Reynolds, much like Nutting, just likes what he likes.
“I’ve been saying it since spring: the talent we've got, the young talent that’s still coming and just talking about the culture that we’ve been building,” Reynolds said, “all those things combined with the city, the fans, everything — it's something I’ve wanted to be a part of for a long time.”
‘Been far too long’
Think for a second about where things stood in January: The two sides were more than $50 million apart in negotiations and Reynolds had grown so frustrated with the entire process that he requested a trade.
And this story ended with a $100-plus million deal that represents the most guaranteed money a professional athlete in Pittsburgh has ever received? Cynical Pirates fans might reject this idea, but Nutting’s influence here was crucial.
“Me and Bob had a few personal conversations that I think were really important to the whole situation,” Reynolds said. “So we were able to share things about where we were at. But the main thing is that we both had the same ultimate desire. I think once we realized that, we realized this was something that needed to get done.”
Reynolds’ representatives felt the same way, explaining after the press conference how important it was for Nutting to be as involved as he was in the deal. For the respect he apparently went out of his way to show Bryan, repeating several times how important Reynolds was to the Pirates and how integral it would be for this deal to get done.
It’s an interesting and important place for Nutting to be, honestly.
He’s careful not to come off as a meddler, but Nutting is also seemingly aware of the clout he carries. It’s why he’s been a more regular presence around the day-to-day operations of the team during this rebuilding process, especially lately.
It’s why he was comfortable taking an Andrew McCutchen return to Cherington and finding a way to make it work that was both respectful to McCutchen and what the current group is trying to build. It’s why Nutting took it upon himself to cast aside everything else and get to the simplest form of discussions.
“We’re in a wonderful spot right now, and you deserve to be a part of that,” Nutting told Reynolds.
“It’s wonderful that we have a player with real character, character that we can invest in and we can trust.”
It will be interesting to see where this ultimately leads. The Pirates are operating as they never have before. They’ve signed long-term contracts totaling nearly $200 million the past two years. They have a solid farm system, an acknowledgement of past developmental mistakes and reinvigorated efforts when it comes to the draft and international free agency.
At the center of it, of course, is Nutting, someone who’s ... well, uniquely him. The same as the player he just signed. It’s crazy how we arrived at this point, but here we are: Nutting and Reynolds literally sitting at the head of the table in terms of importance.
“This franchise is the most important thing to me, period, full stop,” Nutting said. “We saw real success nearly a decade ago now. It's been far too long. It's time for us to get back. We've had a plan.
“It's been challenging the last few years, but it's been a building window and we've made real progress. We're seeing the tangible results of that progress. I look forward to seeing where we're headed.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: April 26, 2023, 2:17 p.m.
Updated: April 26, 2023, 10:28 p.m.