Should Pirates Consider Moving Bryan Reynolds to First Base? (+)
There’s no understating how important Bryan Reynolds is to the Pittsburgh Pirates offense.
Reynolds was the Pirates’ most consistent hitter throughout the 2024 season and carried an otherwise dormant lineup.
The 29-year-old was named an All-Star for the second time in his career and finished with a .275/.344/.447 slash with 29 doubles, 24 home runs and 88 RBIs. He led the team this season in batting average, on-base percentage, home runs, RBIs, hits, runs scored and games played.
Over his six-year career in the black and gold, Reynolds has been a well above-average offensive player. Since he made his debut in 2019, Reynolds has the seventh-highest OPS among National League outfielders.
After he was called up from the minor leagues, Reynolds spent the majority of his time in left field but transitioned to center field from 2021-22. Defensive woes prompted the Pirates to shift Reynolds back to left field prior to the start of the 2023 season, when he had two defensive runs saved but just one outfield assist.
Improving his arm strength was a priority heading into the 2024 season, and Reynolds finished tied for the Major League lead with 11 assists as an outfielder. However, he was also responsible for minus-five defensive runs saved.
But most concerning of all, Reynolds was among the very worst in the league with an atrocious mark of minus-13 outs above average, which measures a player’s range.
Reynolds’ defensive deficiencies have at least opened up a conversation about Reynolds shifting to the infield dirt and first base.
General manager Ben Cherington was asked about the possibility when he met with members of the media following the conclusion of the regular season.
“We haven’t really had a chance to get into 2025 roster construction quite yet,” he explained. “I think we’ll stay open minded. We have not had any formal discussions. Certainly no decisions about Bryan Reynolds playing anywhere else than left field.
“Bryan Reynolds is a really good baseball player and I think he likes doing baseball things and so he likes taking ground balls at first base. It could just be that. But we’ll get into that deeper here in October.”
As Cherington mentioned, Reynolds would often get some fielding work at first base pregame this season. It’s not uncommon for Pirates’ players to switch positions during batting practice. Connor Joe can be found at shortstop sometimes, for example.
Manager Derek Shelton, who would not rule out the possibility of Reynolds eventually appearing in a game at first base at some point, explained why.
“This is something that, really three years ago, (bench coach Don Kelly) came up with this drill where we switch infielders and outfielders and I thought it was the worst idea of all time and our players love it probably more than anything,” said Shelton. “So for three years Reynolds has been telling me he wants to play the infield. It’s something that we wanted to work on his footwork in the outfield and we thought this was the best way.”
While it is true that the Pirates had Reynolds at first base during batting practice to help him in the outfield, his practice at the position makes the idea of a position change more plausible, and it’s something that should be considered.
The Pirates haven’t had a long-term solution at first base for decades. A case could be made, really, since the days of Hall of Famer Willie Stargell.
Reynolds already has the offensive profile to fit the position. Even though there’s no real way to gauge how he would play defensively in a new spot yet, he has an entire offseason and all of spring training to get acclimated.
He’ll need it too, and you know why if you’ve ever seen the movie Moneyball.
In the same breath, using Reynolds to address a need at first base would create a void in the outfield.
Center field is already secured by Oneil Cruz following his sudden position change during the season. But outside of Cruz, and Reynolds if a change was to take place, left and right field are both up for grabs.
Bryan De La Cruz and Jack Suwinski are both huge question marks after disappointing seasons. The other options are Joshua Palacios and Ji Hwan Bae, both of whom spent most of the year in Indianapolis.
Though the outfield would become a bigger question mark, moving Reynolds to first base seems to make a lot of sense, especially considering his playing days as a 20-something year old are no longer. Reynolds will be 30 years old on Opening Day 2025, and playing a less demanding position could prove beneficial in the long-run.
At the very least, it’s something Reynolds would be receptive to.
“It’s doable. Yeah, I mean, (Bryce Harper) did it successfully. I’m not saying that I’m Harper but it can be done, moving from outfield to infield,” he said towards the end of the regular season. “So it’s something I’ll work on. If that’s what’s going to help us, I’ll do that. If being in the outfield is better, then I’ll do that, too.”
Even if no formal decision is made just yet, the Pirates’ offseason will dictate what their plans are for the steady Reynolds.
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