The long-suffering Pirates surprisingly have the best record in the National League—and now they’ve signed their best player to a record-setting contract extension.
Outfielder Bryan Reynolds has agreed to an eight-year, $106.75 million contract through 2030, according to multiple reports. The deal is the largest in Pittsburgh franchise history, eclipsing the eight-year, $70 million contract third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes signed last April.
The Pirates have historically been one of MLB’s thriftiest franchises. The deal with Reynolds leaves just three teams in the majors (the White Sox, Royals and A’s) that have never signed a player to a nine-figure contract, according to ESPN.
Reynolds was acquired from the Giants in a January 2018 trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco. He made his MLB debut a year later and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. He made the All-Star team in 2021 and finished 11th in MVP voting after posting a .302/.390/.522 slash line while leading Pittsburgh in homers and RBIs.
Reynolds requested a trade from the Pirates in December amid reports that the two sides were far apart in contract negotiations. Pittsburgh reportedly offered $80 million over six years, while Reynolds wanted $134 million over eight years. The agreement reached Tuesday is for the same average annual value the team originally offered over the length of the contract Reynolds wanted.
The news comes as the Pirates are playing their best baseball in three decades. At 16–7, this is their best start since 1992, the last time they won their division. Pittsburgh lost highly touted shortstop Oneil Cruz to a broken ankle on April 9 but is 10–4 since then, thanks to, as Emma Baccellieri wrote on Monday, a pitching staff that’s throwing more breaking balls than any other in the majors and a cohesive clubhouse culture. Signing Reynolds long-term will keep that cohesive group together.
