The Pittsburgh Pirates locked up outfielder Bryan Reynolds with a guaranteed eight-year, $106.75-million deal that is the richest contract in franchise history, a source confirmed to the Tribune-Review.
The deal, pending a physical, includes a $2 million signing bonus and a limited, six-team no-trade clause. It buys out two years of arbitration and six years of free agency.
The Pirates are expected to announce the deal Wednesday.
Reynolds, 28, will still make $6.75 million this season, completing the second year of a two-year contract signed last April to avoid arbitration. He will earn $10 million in 2024, $12 million in 2025, $14 million in 2026 and $15 million per season from 2027-30. There is a $20 million club option in 2031, with a $2 million buyout, making the deal potentially worth $124.75 million in total.
“Bryan Reynolds having the ability to be here long-term, I think, is really important and it means a lot to us,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said before Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “There’s been a lot of conversation over the last month and a half between Bryan’s people and our baseball ops people. I think it was important that Bryan and (Pirates chairman) Bob (Nutting) talked, and that happened, and I think that was vital. I’m a big Bryan Reynolds fan, so hopefully he’ll be a Pirate for a while.”
Pirates manager Derek Shelton talks about the impact the Bryan Reynolds contract can have on the club. pic.twitter.com/eIvedpWCXF
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) April 25, 2023
Reynolds’ contract — the franchise’s first nine-figure deal — surpasses the eight-year, $70 million contract that third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes signed last April, making the duo the club’s cornerstones for the future. Both the salary and term had been agreed upon by Opening Day, but the Pirates balked at Reynolds’ request for an opt-out clause after the fourth year. This deal doesn’t have an opt-out clause but the no-trade clause is a first for the Pirates (16-7), who are in first place in the NL Central.
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The agreement ends an acrimonious standoff between the Pirates and Reynolds, a 2021 All-Star who requested a trade last November after the sides were $50 million apart. The news broke Dec. 3, putting Pirates general manager Ben Cherington in a position where he had to decide whether to deal their most productive player just before the start of the Winter Meetings.
Reynolds confirmed reports at spring training that he asked for an eight-year deal at $134 million while the Pirates countered at six years and $80 million.
“I think I’ve been pretty open these last few years that my No. 1 would be to sign an extension in Pittsburgh,” Reynolds told reporters Feb. 15 at Pirate City. “I want that to be a fair deal for both sides. Not one side or the other. Not a crazy player, not a crazy team deal. That’s always been my No. 1.”
Nutting personally sought out Reynolds the first week of training camp at Pirate City, talking with him before batting practice to clear the air.
“We try very hard to filter out those emotional outputs. It’s not really what matters. What matters to me is that Bryan knows, and I hope he does after this week, how much we appreciate what he’s doing for the team, how much we respect him as a person and a player,” Nutting told the Tribune-Review in late February. “He really is a good baseball player. He really is a dedicated, hard-working, wonderful part of the team. And we would love to find a way to make that work.
“At the same time, the formal process, I really respect Ben (Cherington) and that whole team to be able to work through and put together. It has to make sense for Bryan, for his family and for the team — and I know they’re working through that.”
The Pirates initially stood their ground, insisting that they intended to keep Reynolds, given that he is signed for $6.75 million in 2023 and had two years of arbitration eligibility remaining before reaching free agency in 2025.
“While it is disappointing, this will have zero impact on our decision-making this offseason or in the future,” a Pirates spokesperson said. “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.”
Reynolds response: “That’s their court. We couldn’t force them to do anything. We just, I was frustrated. I think we have a right to have those emotions, too, and that’s what we did, but obviously, can’t force them to do anything.”
There were reports the Pirates were asking for what other MLB executives considered a “ridiculous” return. The market for outfielders changed, however, when the New York Yankees retained the premier free agent, AL MVP Aaron Judge, for nine years at $360 million, and the New York Mets agreed to an eight-year, $162 million contract with center fielder Brandon Nimmo.
That put the 27-year-old Reynolds in high demand.
Despite having timing issues early and dealing with an oblique injury, Reynolds slashed .262/.345/.461 with 19 doubles, four triples and a career-best 27 home runs with 62 RBIs last season to lead the Pirates in most major offensive categories. He was a Silver Slugger finalist for the second consecutive season.
Reynolds won MLB player of the week honors in the first week of this season, after batting .480 with four home runs, 12 RBIs, nine runs scored and a 1.120 slugging percentage. Through 22 games, he is slashing .294/.319/.553 with five doubles, five homers, 18 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
“He’s someone anyone would want on their team,” Cherington said on the MLB Network’s Hot Stove show in the offseason. “We’re focused on helping the Pirates getting to a better spot and moving towards a winning team in Pittsburgh.”
Despite enduring back-to-back 100-loss seasons, Reynolds sounded positive in October about the young core the Pirates were building around with himself, Hayes and shortstop Oneil Cruz.
“I think the future’s bright, so obviously I’m looking forward to next year and the years after that,” Reynolds said in October. “I think we’re going to get better. Obviously, I want to be a part of it. Anyway I can be part of it, I’ll be happy.”
