A simple Bryan Reynolds shift could help relieve Pirates’ lineup bottleneck

How do you fix the league's worst offense that at times was on a historically bad pace last year? Acquire a bunch of above-average hitters. That's the easy part. But what happens when those pieces don't quite fit together in a reasonable defensive alignment? That's the dilemma facing the Pittsburgh Pirates as we enter spring training.

The Pirates' facelift included adding a player in Ryan O'Hearn, who happened to play the same position as one of the club's lone offensive bright spots, Spencer Horwitz. At first, this was a manageable logjam. The pair could alternate between first base and the DH spot. Problem solved.

But with more work to do as far as adding offensive firepower, and few quality options remaining, the club agreed to a one-year deal with slugger Marcell Ozuna, throwing a major wrench in the Horwitz-O'Hearn plan.

The 35-year-old is strictly a DH at this point, and he's coming off a down year, but if he can rebound to his 2024 form when he hit 39 homers with a .925 OPS, he'd easily become Pittsburgh's biggest offensive threat. Unfortunately, his presence could threaten the playing time of either O'Hearn or Horwitz, and the club can ill afford to keep a quality bat on the bench.

So, how do the Pirates sort this dilemma? With Bryan Reynolds of course.

Bryan Reynolds is the key to solving the Pirates' lineup logjam

As Pirates insider Jason Mackey points out, a simple shift for Bryan Reynolds would open up the bottleneck and, in turn, help the runs flow.

Mackey's brainstorm comes from the fact that while O'Hearn has experience in both outfield corners, he has much more experience in right field than in left. Reynolds, meanwhile, was primarily a left fielder prior to last season. While his final year in left was not good with minus-9 outs above average on his ledger in 2024, there's a decent shot he could revert to his previous form as a serviceable defensive left fielder. His defense will never be anything to write home about, but that's a secondary concern for now.

With Reynolds in left, O'Hearn can become the regular right fielder, which then opens first for Horwitz and permits Ozuna to fill the DH role night in and night out. And just like that, everything is in its right place.

If Kevin Kiermaier's tutelage can unlock Oneil Cruz and his athletic gifts, transforming him into a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder as his physical tools suggest he can be, Pittsburgh can not only survive having two sub-optimal gloves in the outfield corners, but thrive.

Most importantly, the starting nine would feature the most potent bats that the Pirates have, and adding to that equation was the most important thing they needed to accomplish this winter. Shifting Reynolds to the opposite corner means they can officially check fixing the offense off the to-do list.