Major League Baseball (MLB) Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Brian Reynolds (28), who even requested a trade due to the size of the extension contract, eventually signed a large contract.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, an American media, reported on the 26th (Korean time) that “Pittsburgh has agreed to an eight-year, $106.75 million (approximately 143.2 billion won) contract with Reynolds.” This is the largest contract in the history of Pittsburgh, founded in 1882, far exceeding last year’s teammate Kibrian Hayes (8 years, 70 million dollars).
Reynolds, who previously agreed with Pittsburgh on an annual salary of $13.5 million (about 18.1 billion won) for two years from 2022, will sign a new contract starting this year. This season’s salary is the same at $6.75 million (about 9 billion won), but a signing bonus of 2 million dollars (about 2.6 billion won) is added. As the annual salary increases step by step during the period, it will rise to 15 million dollars (about 20.1 billion won) in 2030.
Reynolds’ contract has a club option for 20 million dollars (about 26.8 billion won) in 2031, and a buyout of 2 million dollars if rejected. According to Marc Feinsand of MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, Reynolds has the right to veto trades with six clubs.
Reynolds, who made his debut in 2019, earned a career batting average of 0.282, 79 homers, 257 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.844, gaining a reputation as an outfielder with good hitting. In the 60-game shortened season due to Corona 19 in 2020, he suffered a “second year jinx” with a batting average of 0.189, but the following year, with a batting average of 0.302 and 24 home runs, he was selected as an All-Star and ranked 11th in the National League MVP voting.
Reynolds had measles once before this season. He requested a trade in December of last year as negotiations on an extension contract with the club did not go smoothly. Pittsburgh offered six years and $76 million, while Reynolds asked for another $50-60 million.
Pittsburgh hurriedly issued a statement and declared that there would be no trade, saying, “It’s disappointing, but Reynolds is still a key member of the team.” 스포츠토토
Reynolds, who entered the season after twists and turns, played 22 games until the 25th, leading the team’s batting average with a batting average of 0.294, 5 homers, 18 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.872. Amidst his performance, Pittsburgh also took the sole lead in the Central Division of the National League with a record of 16 wins and 7 losses (0.696 win rate).
On the other hand, it was predicted that Reynolds’ stay would not affect teammate Bae Ji-hwan (24). MLB Trade Rumors, a media specializing in major league transfers, pointed out that Reynolds has recently appeared more in left field than center field, and said, “This season, Bae Ji-hwan and Jack Suwinsky appear more often in center field. It’s falling,” he said.