Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 10 Trades Of The 2010s

Number 2 – Pirates Acquire Bryan Reynolds And Kyle Crick

You’d be pretty hard pressed to find a Pirate fan who wasn’t upset when news broke of Andrew McCutchen being traded. Ironically, the trade might go down as the best trade Huntington made during his tenure.

The fan favorite and 2013 MVP was coming off a solid 2017 season (.279/.363/.486, 28 home runs, 123 OPS+), but it was a far cry from the numbers he was putting up in the peak of his prime between 2012-2014 (.320/.405/.534, 162 OPS+). Plus with and the Pirates not in direct contention for a playoff spot, McCutchen was traded to the Giants for two players – reliever Kyle Crick and outfielder Bryan Reynolds.

Reynolds had a great rookie season in 2019. He posted a .314/.377/.503 batting line in 546 PAs. While he wasn’t going to be a finalist for a Gold Glove, Reynolds posted a +1 DRS in his primary position of left field. He ranked 5th in fWAR among all position player rookies last year with his 3.2 fWAR, and 5th in rookie wRC+ at 131 (min. 300 PAs). The switch hitter will enter 2020 as the team’s primary left fielder, and a legit All-Star candidate.

While Kyle Crick struggled for about 42% of 2019, he still was one of the better set-up men in 2018. In 60.1 innings Crick posted a 2.39 ERA, 3.14 FIP, and 1.13 WHIP. While he struggled with control in 2018, Crick walked just 3.4/9, while striking them out at a 9.7/9 rate. Crick is still only 27 years old, and looks to play a major role in the Pirates bullpen plans in 2020.

McCutchen was solid in San Francisco, posting a .255/.357/.415 line and 15 home runs, but he played just 130 games/568 PA’s. He was traded at the August deadline to the NY Yankees for two minor leaguers, one of which isn’t even in the Giants’ system anymore.

A big part of this trade is projecting the future for Reynolds. All signs point toward Reynolds becoming one of the best outfielders in the National League and a potential face of the franchise type of player.