Pittsburgh Pirates: Looking At Potential Extension Candidates

There are multiple players the Pittsburgh Pirates could look to extend this offseason. Who are some of these players and would extensions make sense?

Last offseason, shortly after being hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates, general manager Ben Cherington stated he wanted to look into extensions with some of their young players. Things didn’t get past the planning stage as all transactions for every team were put on hold because of the COVID-19 shutdown. However, the Bucs could re-open extension talks this winter.

The reported extension discussions the Pirates had last season were centered around a group of young players. It was believed this group included players such as Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes (who had yet to make his MLB debut), Kevin Newman, and Joe Musgrove.

Some members of this group made their case for a contract extension with their performance in 2020. However, some of them hurt their case for an extension and bigger money. Without the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down baseball it is not known how far extension talks would have gone. It is possible, though, that the Pirates may have been able to work out at least one extension.

Will there be any extensions this offseason? We will have to wait and see, but these four players are ones that could be worth the Pittsburgh Pirates exploring extensions with.