Bryan Reynolds

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Bryan Patrick Reynolds

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Bryan Reynolds was a second-round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants in the 2016 amateur draft, out of Vanderbilt University. There, he was part of the team that won the 2014 College World Series and lost the final game of the 2015 College World Series. The school's title in 2014 was the first in its history.

He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Northwest League, and also saw some playing time with the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League that season. Between the two stops, he hit .313/.363/.484 in 56 games, with 6 homers, 39 runs and 38 RBIs for an excellent pro debut. In 2017, he played 121 games for the San Jose Giants of the California League, hitting .312/.364/.462, with 26 doubles, 9 triples and 10 homers. He scored 72 runs and drove in 63 while playing all three outfield spots.

On January 15, 2018, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates alongside P Kyle Crick and $500,000 in international bonus money in return for major league OF Andrew McCutchen. He made his debut with the Pirates a little over a year later, on April 20, 2019. He hit .314 in 134 games as a rookie, with 37 doubles, 16 homers, 83 runs and 68 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 130. He finished fourth in the voting for the NL Rookie of the Year and was named to the 2019 Topps All-Star Rookie Team as one of the few bright spots on a wretched Pirates team that year. In 2020, during the season that was shorted to 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic, he slumped badly, batting only .189 with 7 homers and 19 RBIs in 55 games, for an OPS of 71.

With Pirates fans wondering whether his rookie season was only a flash in the pan, Reynolds bounced back with an excellent year in 2021 as he was one of two representatives from the team at the 2021 All-Star Game, alongside 2B Adam Frazier (who was traded sonn after). He batted .302 in 159 games as the team's primary centerfielder, adding plenty of extra-base hits with 35 doubles, a National League-leading 8 triples, and 24 homers. He scored 93 runs and drove in 90 for a team that had trouble scoring all season, and also drew 75 walks for an OBP of .390, resulting in an OPS+ of 146. In spite of playing for a last-place team, he finished 11th in the MVP vote; he also missed out on a Silver Slugger Award, as the three outfield slots went to Bryce Harper, Juan Soto and Nick Castellanos. He was not as outstanding during the first half of 2022, as the Bucs still sputtered offensively. On June 29th, however, he had the first three-homer game of his career in an 8-7 win over the Washington Nationals. It was only the second multi-homer game of his career, after having a two-homer game in his rookie season, but his feat was overshadowed by an unusual play in the 5th inning, when the Nationals fail to properly appeal for a fourth out, allowing Jack Suwinski to score the go-ahead run when Ke'Bryan Hayes lined into a double play. The three long balls accounted for six of the other seven runs scored by the Bucs in the game, and gave him 15 for the season. It came two weeks after a similar game by Suwinski on June 19th, and the next day C Michael Perez accomplished the feat as well, making the Pirates the first team to ever have three such games in one month. In fact, the record for an entire season was only four. He hit .262 in 145 games that season, with 27 homers, 74 runs and 62 RBIs for an OPS+ of 127.

Heading into 2023, the big question around Bryan was how long he would remain a Pirate given his upcoming free agency and the team's past reluctance to sign its players to long-term deals. Most observers considered he was as good as gone, but on April 25th, news emerged that he and the Pirates had come to an agreement on such a deal, with a figure of $106.75 million over eight years. Not only would that make it the largest contract in team history, but also the first one to total over $100 million in value (the Pirates were one of only four teams never to have given out such a contract). The Bucs were off to a surprising scorching start and Reynolds was hitting .295 with 5 homers through 22 games.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Justice delos Santos: "Despite trade request, Reynolds still open to long-term deal", mlb.com, February 15, 2023. [1]
  • Jeff Passan: "Sources: Pirates, OF Bryan Reynolds reach 8-year extension", ESPN.com, April 25, 2023. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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