Perrotto: Fittingly, Bryan Reynolds Quietly Makes Some History

Lost in all the controversy about Rowdy Tellez being shorted four plate appearances and losing out on a $200,000 performance bonus earlier this week was the fact that Bryan Reynolds made some history.

The left fielder was voted the Roberto Clemente Award winner by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The honor goes each season to the Pirates’ Most Valuable Player.

Reynolds became just the fourth player to win the award three times since it was instituted in 1972. He joined a group that includes Dave Parker, Andy Van Slyke and Andrew McCutchen.

“Anytime you get in the same sentence as those kind of players, it’s pretty special and pretty cool just being mentioned with them,” Reynolds said. “Yeah, it’s pretty special.”

That’s about as much emotion as you’ll usually get from Reynolds. The Tennessean with the baritone southern drawl is the epitome of even-keeled.

Because of his low-key nature, Reynolds doesn’t get much publicity and that’s fine with him. He isn’t bothered by being one of the best-kept secrets in the major leagues.

However, Reynolds did give a revealing answer when I asked if he could have ever imagined things working out this well when former Pirates general manager Neal Huntington acquired him and reliever Kyle Crick from the San Francisco Giants in 2018 in a trade for McCutchen before the beginning of spring training.

“No, I couldn’t have imagined that. I could’ve hoped for it,” Reynolds said. “I just remember being fired up that I got traded, that I got out of San Francisco and got into a good organization that would give me a chance. I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s worked out, worked out great. We’ve just got to get over the hump and get into the playoffs now.”

The Pirates will miss the postseason for the ninth straight year, but it is not Reynolds’ fault.

Reynolds is hitting .274/.341/ .440 with 22 home runs, 85 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 152 games. The switch-hitter’s 167 hits are two short of his career high and he is also hitting .320 with runners in scoring position. Reynolds was also selected to his second career All-Star Game in July.

Most Pirates fans were unfamiliar with the Reynolds and understandably angered about a fan favorite like McCutchen being dealt.

Furthermore, Reynolds was not a high-profile prospect. While he played in the 2017 MLB All-Star Futures Game, he was never mentioned on any top 100 prospect lists.

However, Huntington believed Reynolds could blossom into a star player. He then needed barely more than one season in the farm system until debuting in the major leagues on April 20, 2019.

Derek Shelton has managed the Pirates for five of Reynolds’ last six seasons. Reynolds had a fine rookie year in Clint Hurdle’s final season and Shelton has watched him grow as a player.

“I think you see the maturation of his at-bats,” Shelton said. “He knows how to navigate at-bats. I think that’s what happens when you play. You start to get at-bats that pile up. He’s gotten better right-handed. I would say that’s the other place.”

As Reynolds said, the postseason was the only missing piece to his time in Pittsburgh. With their 74-84 record, the Pirates must win three of their last four games – one against the Brewers and three against the Yankees in New York – to exceed last year’s total of 76 victories.

Though the Pirates haven’t made progress from a numerical standpoint, Reynolds believes the organization is still on an upward trajectory despite an interminable rebuild.

“We had some good moments,” he said of the 2024 season. “We had some not-good moments. We’ve just got to build for the playoffs next year, just have that mindset in the beginning and throughout.”

They could also use a few more good players like Reynolds.