Positives and Negatives of Pirates Changing Bryan Reynolds Position
Long before the Pittsburgh Pirates make their pursuit to add players this offseason that can help them end their nine-year postseason drought, they have some important decisions to make with their roster.
Among them is what position Bryan Reynolds is going to play next season. For the entirety of his career, Reynolds has been an outfielder, but him possibly being moved to first base was among the discussions by the season's end.
The Pirates opting to make the position change would make sense after Reynolds had the worst defensive season of his career, though, the potential ripple effect of that move would bear watching, MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk broke down the impact it could have on Pittsburgh with catchers Endy Rodríguez and Henry Davis waiting in the wings, especially if a reunion with Andrew McCutchen comes to fruition.
"If Reynolds is holding down first base and McCutchen is the regular DH, that does close off avenues for [Henry] Davis, [Endy] Rodríguez, and others to find extra space in the lineup, as the Pirates are juggling all the playing time," Polishuk wrote. "This might alone be an argument for keeping Reynolds in left field, as then finding a part-time first baseman with some pop could still allow for the Bucs to create some platoons. In essence, it would be a repeat of the Pirates’ signing of last winter, except with hopefully a better return than Tellez’s uneven results."
Reynolds' bat will keep him in the middle of the Pirates' lineup regardless of the decision they make. He hit 24 home runs, drove in 88 runs and had a .275/.344/.447 slash line in 2024.
Rodríguez was previously the Pirates' top prospect and ranked No. 35 in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline before he was called up to the big leagues in 2023. The previously top-ranked catching prospect for Pittsburgh appeared in 57 games in 2023, hitting /.220/.284/.328 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. A torn UCL that he suffered in Winter Ball in the fall of 2023 limited him to just 10 games in the minor leagues this season.
In 2022, he hit 25 home runs, drove in 95 runs and slashed .323/.407/.590 across High-A Greensboro, Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.
Davis, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft has largely struggled upon reaching the big leagues. In 2024, he batted .144, hit one home run and drove in five runs in 37 games.
Having the flexibility to play multiple people in a position and get production would be a boon for any team. If Pittsburgh trusts Rodriguez or Davis can figure it out at the plate, it'd be hard-pressed not to have one or both see relatively consistent playing time. But if Pittsburgh believes Reynolds would be best suited to play at first base, some difficult decisions may lie ahead with a trio of catchers between Rodríguez, Davis and Joey Bart.
