Pirates' newest addition will send Bryan Reynolds to an unexpected new position

Spring training is finally back, and the news coming in from the Pirates has been all over the place. After finding out about the Spencer Horwitz injury, there was plenty to discuss about the possibility of who could fill in at first. Ben Cherington claimed that the team's internal solutions were not going to include Bryan Reynolds, despite him taking grounders at the position last season.

That means they intend on keeping him in the outfield moving forward. Reynolds' defense in left field was among the worst in the league, and Derek Shelton stated this week that he will be moving positions this year, which makes a lot of sense.

The Pirates' current plan involves Oneil Cruz in center, with Tommy Pham in left and Reynolds in right. With the way PNC Park is constructed, there is a lot more ground in left field than right, which will help Reynolds defensively, given his range was ranked in the first percentile (OAA of -13) last season.

Reynolds did see a little bit of time in right field in 2024, and was not as bad as he was in left. His OAA was -3, which is significantly better than his -9 in left.

Pham in left field was also solid in 2024, with an OAA of +1 and one singular defensive run saved. This is the best defensive outfield the team can construct, given who they've rostered, and it should improve a lot from last year.

Bryan Reynolds moving to right field with Tommy Pham jumping into left improves the Pirates outfield defensively moving forward.

Given the Pirates' poor offense, their defense needs to be better to limit the damage. The pitching is already very strong. Productive defense in the outfield will help limit the runs the staff allows as well, which should help the Pirates win more games, given that their run-scoring ability will be inconsistent (generously).

This spring will tell a lot about how things may look when the season arrives, and this alignment change is definitely something to pay attention to. Defense is very important, and the Pirates' defense will be getting better after this proclamation from Shelton.