'That should be the goal': Bryan Reynolds, Pirates believe they have playoff potential

After requesting a trade before signing a franchise-record contract last April, Bryan Reynolds was relieved to have a drama-free offseason. That didn’t stop the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder from making a prediction that should draw headlines for being so bold.

Reynolds believes the Pirates (76-86), who followed back-to-back 100-loss seasons by making a 14-win improvement last year, should set their sights on playing in the postseason for the first time since 2015.

“I think we always are focused and all that, but I think the focus this year should be making the playoffs, not just trying to make strides but making tangible strides where we’re winning and in the playoffs,” Reynolds said Friday night at PiratesFest at David L. Lawrence Convention Center. “I don’t think that’s too far-fetched. I think that should be the goal.”

With an eight-year, $106.75 million contract, Reynolds has the rare security to be outspoken on a team that has had only seven winning seasons since 1990. His confidence was bolstered by the Pirates’ strong finish. After winning 20 of their first 28 games and spending more than a month in first place in the NL Central, they won 35 of their final 67 games with MLB’s youngest roster.

Stretch that .522 winning percentage from the final two months over a full season, Reynolds reasoned, and the Pirates could have clinched a wild-card berth. The Arizona Diamondbacks went 84-78 (.519) and reached the World Series with a lineup that featured NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll.

Reynolds believes the bookends to the season showed what the Pirates can do when healthy and playing well, especially considering they did so without Oneil Cruz after the 6-foot-7 shortstop fractured his left ankle in early April.

“I think it just shows what we’re capable of as a team,” said Reynolds, 28, who enters his sixth season in the majors. “The last time we were in it was 2019, really, at the break. We spent a month or more playing 20-8 baseball with the same group we have right now. It just shows that we’ve got the pieces, and we’ve got the ability. We’ve just got to do it.”

The Pirates are building around a core that features Reynolds, Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and a pair of All-Stars: closer David Bednar and right-handed starter Mitch Keller. There is also a cast of young players who were regulars in the starting lineup by July 17.

The return of Cruz is a considerable addition, as he brings power to the leadoff spot in the lineup and one of baseball’s best arms in the middle infield.

“Last year, for example, we did the roller-coaster ride of being hot and then super cold,” Reynolds said. “At the end, we started leveling off and playing good baseball for an extended period of time. That with getting some guys back — hopefully Cruz is full tilt — and all the young guys are experienced, plus whatever additions we do. There’s still time. I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to say that our goal is to make the playoffs because I don’t think it is.”

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Reynolds isn’t alone in his optimism, despite an offseason in which the Pirates have made few major moves. But their red-hot start — they had the best record in the NL through April and were in first place until mid-June — and solid finish have the Pirates talking like they can be a contender. They endured miserable months in May (8-18) and July (8-16), sandwiched around a June that included a 10-game losing streak.

“You switch some of those games out with wins, we’re right there in the wild card,” Hayes said. “That’s really encouraging. We’ve added some new faces, some veteran presence this year. Can’t wait to go back down to Florida and get to work. I think even last year, we got to camp, we were still fairly young, but it was a lot more, ‘We’re here to win.’ We’re not doing tryout things anymore. … We know what we can do, especially with how we started last year.”

Bednar, whose 39 saves tied for the NL lead despite going a month between save opportunities, emphasized that the way the Pirates finished was proof that they can compete with a young team that included rookies in starting pitchers Luis Ortiz and Quinn Priester, relievers Carmen Mlodzinski, Kyle Nicolas and Colin Selby, catchers Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis and infielders Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero, Jared Triolo and Alika Williams.

“It was very important at the end of the year, just to win with the group that we had,” Bednar said. “That’s how you learn as a group. You learn how to win together, and that’s how you build that trust with one another. It was really good to end on that high note and finish the season strong. The big thing was, nobody gave up, and everybody was playing hard until the last game. That speaks volumes about the group we had. I know as a whole, we’re really excited to get back to spring training.”

The Pirates haven’t made any major moves this offseason but signed left-handed pitcher Martin Perez to a one-year, $8 million contract Friday. He is expected to join a starting rotation that lost Johan Oviedo to Tommy John surgery but returns Keller and added lefty Marco Gonzales through a trade with Atlanta.

They also traded for outfielder Edward Olivares and signed slugging first baseman Rowdy Tellez and designated hitter Andrew McCutchen, both to one-year deals. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington has expressed a desire to add another starting pitcher and a position player.

After years of major roster turnover, seeing so many familiar faces at PiratesFest provided a sense of stability.

“It’s cool to be around that,” Keller said. “Our expectations are through the roof, man. We want to win. We’ve always wanted to win, but I feel like we have a really good, cohesive group where we can come together and really do something special.”