Pirates Biggest Contract Projected To Be 'Nightmare' By 2027
Bryan Reynolds had been the team's face of the Pittsburgh Pirates, earning the largest contract extension in franchise history before the 2023 season.
But will he be able to live up to the lofty expectations for the duration of it?
Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer listed the 10 contracts that will be a nightmare by 2027 and had Reynolds as one of the players, citing his declining numbers on both sides of the ball.
"It's not the best sign that such things have begun to happen even before Reynolds' 30th birthday, which will come on January 27," Rymer writes. "He isn't a bad player yet, to be sure, but the wind is blowing that way."
Reynolds agreed to an eight-year $106.75 million deal before the beginning of the 2023 season, the richest Pittsburgh has ever signed a player to in its franchise history. The switch-hitting outfielder will make $12.25 million next season, according to Spotrac then get a slight pay bump to $14.25 million in 2026. From 2027 to 2030, Reynolds will make $15.25 million and has a club option worth $20 million for 2031.
Rymer noted Reynolds' decline in home runs and OPS in the 279 games since he signed the contract extension compared to the 279 games after he put pen to paper. Before signing the extension, the switch-hitting outfielder posted a .862 OPS and hit 51 home runs. In the 279 games since agreeing to the contract extension, Reynolds has a .784 OPS and has hit 43 home runs for the Pirates.
Reynolds. 3.6 Wins Above Replacement in 2024 was his best since 2021 when he was named to the first All-Star team of his career. Reynolds made the second All-Star team of his career last season and he finished the year batting .275/.344/.447 with 24 home runs and 88 RBIs. Over his last four seasons, Reynolds has hit at least 24 home runs and has driven in at least 80 RBIs in three of the last four.
Rymer also noted Reynolds fall off as a defender, which more than merits concern. Reynolds' -13 outs above average was the worst in baseball and -11 runs prevented was tied for the worst by Baseball Savant's metrics. While the Pirates could opt to cover up Reynolds' defensive struggles by having him DH more, that would mean having Andrew McCutchen out of the lineup more after he proved to still be one of their best hitters last season.
Pittsburgh has also flirted with the idea of moving Reynolds to first base, but that position appears to be Spencer Horwitz's for the foreseeable future after what the Pirates gave up to acquire him via trade from the Cleveland Guardians.
Projecting a player to live up to their contract is one of the tougher tasks for a team and it's even more important for a team as frugal as the Pirates to get it right. If Reynolds begins to decline, it won't just bode poorly for him, it could cause Pittsburgh to tighten its pockets even more when it comes to giving players contract extensions.
