Prior to the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had never handed out a nine figure contract. Their business model has always been to take the cheap route. However, that changed a few weeks into the season when the Pirates extended Bryan Reynolds for eight-years at $106 millions. That’s making Reynolds’ struggles a legitimate problem for the penny-pinching Buccos.
Reynolds may not be considered league-wide as a superstar talent. For Pittsburgh, however, he has to be their superstar. There is no denying his importance to the lineup and his struggles coincide with the teams tank to the bottom of the NL Central.
Heading into play Friday, Reynolds has nine home runs on the season. That number becomes even more depressing when you consider that five of those came in the first seven games of the season, it’s no wonder why fans are getting frustrated with the newly-minted franchise cornerstone. Reynolds went 34 games between his fifth and sixth home runs. While Reynolds isn’t necessarily a power-hitter, he has pop and can fairly be expected to hit between 20-25 home runs a season for his pay.
Reynolds’ hit .323 in April with a .937 OPS. The contract was looking completely justified. Now, things are getting a bit dicey for the Pirates.
Bryan Reynolds’ Struggles Since May
For the season, the 28-year old is slashing .255/.323/.427 across 82 games. While his contract would be that of a supplementary player on a good team, that is an Aaron Judge-like contract for the Pirates. They need him to play much better than he is at the moment.
This has been Reynolds for a lot of his time in Pittsburgh. Reynolds is a streaky player that, when lost at the plate, struggles to find himself for quite some time. When Reynolds does find himself, though, he can be one of the better players in the major leagues. There is a good chance Reynolds digs out of this over the last two months. He was fighting a back injury that had him shelved for a few weeks. Maybe that is the root cause of the struggles.
Since May 1st, Reynolds has played in 55 games. His numbers: .223/.308/.355 for a underwhelming .663 OPS. For your cornerstone guy as a small market team, there is no defending that. The Pirates simply need better. He’s hit four home runs in two-and-a-half months. Reynolds commonly hits second or third in the Pirates’ lineup so he has no shortage of RBI-opportunities. He’s had just 21 since May 1st.
Pittsburgh’s entire offense is colder than the city on a Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday in December. Reynolds is a catalyst and if he is struggling to produce, the team will likely follow suit.
Bryan Reynolds began year with 5 HRs in 29 AB and 1.572 OPS. His batting line since April 7: .238/.312/.363 — .675 with 4 HR in 281 AB. Expected to be the cornerstone of the franchise, and understandably so, Reynolds and his $100M deal is looking like a colossal mistake. #Pirates
— Bob Smizik (@BobSmizik) July 19, 2023
Are There Any Answers In Sight?
Offensively, things aren’t going very well in Pittsburgh. No one on the team is enjoying much success on the offensive side of the ball over the last month save for third baseman Jared Triolo. The Pirates aren’t and weren’t realistically supposed to contend this season. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t show improvement as a whole.
Hitting coach Andy Haines and manager Derek Shelton have faced a ton of criticism as of late. Haines, formerly the Milwaukee Brewers’ hitting coach, was in charge when Christian Yelich’s struggles began. Here’s to hoping that Reynolds doesn’t head down a similar path under Haines’ tutelage.
Shelton is a former hitting coach himself and yet, with all these supposed hitting pros on the coaching staff, no one on the team can hit. That might be more of a coaching philosophy issue than talent because the struggling culprits have shown to be successful across stretches of baseball. Reynolds is not exception and that is why he received the extension.
For everyone involved, hopefully Reynolds can figure things out. Pittsburgh likely isn’t going anywhere if he isn’t hitting. That isn’t good for culture if the team continues to lose. Reynolds needs to be a leader and an offense-driver if he’s going to be paid like a franchise cornerstone.
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Photo Credit- Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned- Bryan Reynolds, Aaron Judge, Jared Triolo, Christian Yelich
