Pittsburgh Pirates Needs Now That Lockout is Over

Extend Bryan Reynolds

There’s an argument to be made to look to workout a long-term contract with Ke’Bryan Hayes. Potentially an aggressive extension Oneil Cruz or Roansy Contreras as well. However, the team needs to do all they can to get an extension done with center fielder Bryan Reynolds.

Reynolds has quickly emerged as the best player on the Pirate roster. He was one of the best rookies in all of baseball in 2019. After struggling during the 60-game COVID season in 2020, Reynolds bounced back in 2021 and was one of the best offensive players in all of baseball.

At just 27-years-old the switch hitting Reynolds is likely just now entering his prime and should have plenty of good years ahead of him. Giving Reynolds a 7-8 year contract would buy out at least 3 years of free agency while making him the team’s main building block moving forward. Reynolds has also expressed interest in remaining in Pittsburgh long-term, which could make him open to extension talks.

There will be rumors of Reynolds being available on the trade market. Teams will undoubtedly call the Pittsburgh Pirates to ask about Reynolds, but before the lockout it was reported that Cherington seeking multiple top 100 prospects. Potentially as many as 3 top 100 prospects.

He is still under team control through 2025. With the Pirates unlikely to be true contenders before 2023 or 2024 it’s understandable why Cherington could be enticed to see if he could get a team to overpay and sell the farm for Reynolds.