A key piece

Bryan Reynolds has developed into a part of the Pirates’ future.

Starling Marte’s return to Pittsburgh is a reminder of some of the good old days.

The outfielder is visiting PNC Park with his Miami Marlins, as they face the Pirates for a four-game series this weekend. He, of course, was a prominent member of the Pirates teams that made the playoffs from 2013-2015, manning the outfield alongside Andrew McCutchen. Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco joined them in 2014 and is the last man standing from the promising group.

The Pirates, obviously, have moved on from that era, even if Polanco remains a fixture in the everyday lineup. Now, there’s Bryan Reynolds firmly in place out there. Coincidentally, he came to Pittsburgh when the Pirates traded McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants.

He was asked about that trade Friday and remembered that he was happy with the trade because it brought him closer to his hometown Baltimore. He also acknowledged that he felt pressure as the return for McCutchen, admitting it weighed on him for a time in Class AA before insisting he’s past that now.

That would be a good thing, since the details of Reynolds’ arrival in Pittsburgh aren’t that important, even if they are sort of poetic. What’s far more important is that Reynolds’ performance has set him up to be a part of the Pirates’ future. It would be unfair to call him the second McCutchen. That’s an awfully high bar to clear for any player. Reynolds has been worth 2.3 wins above replacement this season. That ties him for the 19th-best WAR in MLB this season, just a tick behind Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer and ahead of players such as Jacob DeGrom, Carlos Correa and Kris Bryant, to name a few.

The next closest Pirates to Reynolds are closer Richard Rodriguez and catcher Jacob Stallings, worth 1.4 WAR each. Basically, by this metric, he has been the Pirates’ best player this season by a substantial amount.

“I think there’s a ton of value there,” manager Derek Shelton said Friday. “A guy that has played above-average left field. Has moved to center field. And is tracking to play above-average center field. He came to the big leagues his first year and hit. Last year, he had a bit of a down year. But he’s bounced right back and is hitting. So, yes, a ton of value. He’s a major component to our club, and a major component to what we’re doing moving forward.”

Most recently, Reynolds appears to be developing some more power. Entering Friday, he had hit homers in four of his past seven games. Stallings told a story about Reynolds after Thursday night’s victory over the Marlins. The two had been talking before the game and Reynolds, sort of complaining, told Stallings that he felt all of his recent hits were homers.

“I was like, ‘What’s wrong with that?’ ” Stallings laughed. “He’s like, ‘Well, I guess nothing.’ Bryan’s a really, really good hitter.”

“I was just telling him I felt like my only hits the last couple of series were homers, and I don’t hit enough homers for that to be sustainable,” Reynolds explained. “Just trying to put the barrel on the ball, stick to my approach the last few games and some of them have gone out.”

Perhaps Reynolds is right. The most home runs he’s ever hit in a professional season were the 16 he hit in his rookie 2019 season. On the bright side, there are separate reasons to believe Reynolds isn’t a one-trick pony.

He’s currently walking at a higher rate than he ever has this season. He chalks that up to an improved approach in regards to pitch selection and pitcher’s trying to work on the edges of the strike zone with breaking balls and chase pitches against him. That is fair, given that Reynolds has a much higher batting average (.360) against fastballs than he does against breaking balls (.200) or offspeed pitches (.229).

That could also change soon, though. Colin Moran, who has hurt for nearly a month now, is close to a return, working his way through a rehab assignment with Class AAA Indianapolis. When he does return, he’ll probably slot into the four spot in the Pirates’ lineup, right behind Reynolds. Maybe that protection — Moran slashed .297/.352/.468 — could force opposing pitchers to attack Reynolds in the zone more frequently.

Shelton isn’t so sure, saying modern pitchers are more likely to stick with a planned pitch mix against an individual batter than they were in the past. At the very least, with Ke’Bryan Hayes back in the lineup, hitting in front of Reynolds, and Moran close behind, some of Reynolds’ RBI and runs scored numbers could get a bump.

“It’s nice when [Hayes] is hitting in front of me because he’s usually on base at second or third or somewhere like that,” Reynolds said. “And getting Colin back, same idea. I’ll just try to get on base so he can drive me in.”

However the return of his teammates changes things, Reynolds has established himself as an outfielder to be trusted right now. With every week of relative success, his brutal 2020 season becomes more of an aberration. It also feels more and more appropriate to call him an outfielder of the future. That’s true, even without a comparison to the outfielders of the Pirates’ past.

Roster moves

The lasting memory of Will Craig’s most recent stint with the Pirates will be him futilely chasing Cubs shortstop Javier Baez down the first-base line toward home plate. You know the play.

He didn’t get all that long to make a new memory. On Friday, the Pirates announced that they had designated the 26-year-old first baseman for assignment. It was a move to make room on the 40-man roster for right-hander JT Brubaker, who was placed on the COVID IL after spending some time on the bereavement list.

It is the second time in the past year the Pirates have DFA’d Craig, as they did so in the offseason as well. He began 2021 in Class AAA Indianapolis, then received a call- up once Moran and infielder Phillip Evans hit the injured list, leaving the Pirates with very few firstbase options. He slashed .217/.277/.300 in 18 games, hitting one homer and two doubles over that span. He’ll now hit the waiver wire. If unclaimed by any other MLB teams, he’ll be eligible for reassignment back to the Pirates minor leagues.

It is unclear when Brubaker will make his next appearance with the Pirates. He is not scheduled to start in any of the remaining games against the Marlins this weekend.