P2Daily: Should the Pirates Now Focus on Extending Bryan Reynolds?

The Pittsburgh Pirates reached an extension with Ke’Bryan Hayes this week, locking up the third baseman for the next eight seasons, with an option year for a ninth season.

That is the type of move the Pirates should be making right now. They’ve committed $70 million dollars during that stretch to Hayes, getting him under control through his age 32 season, or age 33 with the option. That locks up a guy who is likely to remain at third base during that entire stretch, providing Gold Glove-worthy defense, and possessing a bat that we haven’t seen the full potential of in the big leagues.

The extension for Hayes puts a focus on Bryan Reynolds and the situation surrounding the Pirates’ star outfielder. Reynolds is currently under team control through the 2025 season, which is his age 30 season.

One of the assumed drawbacks of an extension for Reynolds is that the team would be buying his age 31+ seasons, which are typically the decline years for a player. However, the Pirates just did the same thing with Hayes. The free agent years they bought out with Hayes are essentially the same years they’d buy out from Reynolds.

A key difference is the current price. Hayes isn’t coming off a 5+ WAR season like Reynolds, and had an extra year of control and one less arbitration year. The price for an extension would definitely be higher for Reynolds. The Pirates could easily eat the Hayes contract in 2028-29 if he’s only an average starter. The same would be more difficult for Reynolds if he’s paid after a 5 WAR season.

But shouldn’t Reynolds get some credit and provide some reassurance that he’s already put up a 3+ and a 5+ WAR season in his first three years? Hayes is being extended mostly for his potential, but a Reynolds extension would be based more on merit.

The Hayes extension is the type of move that a small market team like the Pirates should do. They need to lock up their young players early, at affordable rates, to ensure that a guy like Ke’Bryan Hayes remains in Pittsburgh longer than the standard first six seasons in the majors. They especially need to lock up those guys if they play premium positions like Hayes.

But a small market team that wants to contend needs to be extending guys like Reynolds, and keeping the already proven performers on the team for the long-term.

As it stands right now, the Pirates don’t look like a contender in 2022. That means they will currently have, at most, three years to contend with Reynolds. This would require that they start contending in 2023, and keep him up until free agency. At least one of those seems highly unlikely to happen.

That situation would look better if the Pirates extended Reynolds and added on some team control of their best player for when their window should finally be open.

Considering they just made a similar move with Hayes, it only makes sense to now focus on adding Reynolds to the long-term mix.