Reynolds' presence nurturing much-needed growth on offense

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates' offense was not only really bad last season, it was historically bad. A .226 team batting average was the lowest of the modern era in franchise history (with the exception of 2020), and no Pirates team struck out more than the 2022 squad.

This spring, the Pirates have shifted their focus from building to setting an expectation to win. In order for that to happen, these guys have to hit. There can't be anything that resembles last year's production, despite many returning faces.

The Pirates' 11-3 defeat at the hands of the Braves on Sunday afternoon at LECOM Park featured several projected starters in the lineup, probably the closest resemblance of an Opening Day lineup you might see at this point in the spring. At the center of the action were two very important pieces -- both of which represent two different hurdles that equally impact the short- and long-term future of this franchise.

Home runs by Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski were all the Pirates could muster in the loss, and the latter gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning.

The Pirates need two different types of tangible development regarding both players. The immediate attention goes to Reynolds, who's an established All-Star-level player that requested a trade right before the Winter Meetings due to a colossal gap between he and the club in long-term contract negotiations. A distraction like that can obviously be detrimental to any team until it's resolved, much less a team that plans to be on the upswing this season.

However, Reynolds' attitude has remained consistent from the moment he arrived at Pirate City and said he was 100% "locked in" for the Pirates. That's not only shone through in his attitude in the clubhouse, but the way he's taken on a bit of a mentorship role with some of the players on offense, including Suwinski.

"I love playing with him," Reynolds said after Sunday's game. "Great player, and a good dude too, off the field. A lot of talent." 

Then, Reynolds said something that really validated his commitment to this club as long as he wears Pirates across his chest.

"I’m looking forward to spending another year with him and playing outfield next to him," Reynolds said.

That's not something player says -- especially not one that could have a pivotal role on just about any club in Major League Baseball -- who is constantly looking off in the distance to see if the grass is greener elsewhere. Reynolds has every reason to just put his head down, do his thing and focus on increasing his worth to give him and his representation more leverage. But, he's remained a great teammate and become someone that players can approach in the clubhouse.

"Obviously I look up to him, as a person and as a player," Suwinski said of Reynolds. "I like spending time with him. Try and get him to talk to me a little bit more because he’s a little quiet. It’s an honor playing next to him. I know what he’s done. I know what he can do. And I know what he brings to this team. We’re thrilled to have him. I’m excited to play next to him, watch him hit. Even behind-the-scenes action in the cage, just chat with him person-to-person as well."

Suwinski represents the other type of development -- one that requires actual development, and from several players that the Pirates need to realize their potential. This whole rebuild isn't going to work if too many of these younger hitters can't grow into reliable big league players. 2023 is a big year for many of them since 2022 was dedicated to bouts of growing pains.

Seeing a player such as Suwinski make adjustments to his stance this spring and turn in at-bats where he reaches down for a two-strike splitter and put enough barrel on it to send it over the fence, that's the type of growth the Pirates need this year. It just needs to be on a far more consistent basis. That's the next step for the younger group.

"Everyone in this room is working as hard they can from what I can see," Suwinski said. "I know we have good hitters, a good offense. We have a team that can put runs up and do a lot of things. Power, speed, contact. We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things. We’re not short in that department. There are some really good baseball players in this room.

"I’m very appreciative of our staff. We’re all working really hard, all day, all camp. Everyone has been working their tails off to get to the spot that they want to be and compete for a spot on the team, be able to help the team win games. I think there have been a number of adjustments already that I’ve made. We talk about it daily. I’m just very grateful to have that ability to talk about it, work on it, continue to work on it, then rinse, wash, repeat."

Seeing the rest of the lineup turn in no production on a day like Sunday could be alarming. But, it's important to remember that the Pirates just now crossed the midway point of Grapefruit League action. There are still 15 games left before the Pirates travel to Cincinnati for the first game that matters. The process of hitters preparing for the season is chugging along.

And, with Reynolds maintaining the same demeanor amid his contract situation, it's moving along in the most healthy way possible under the current circumstances.

"Spring is just trying to get your timing, trying to get all of that going," Reynolds said. "Every time you put the ball on the barrel, it’s kind of a win. It’s nice to obviously get hits and mix in a couple homers. Overall, we’re all on the right trajectory. Just keep going. We’ve still got two weeks."

MORE FROM LECOM PARK

• Reynolds has now homered in back-to-back games, and switched to a heavier set of Marucci bats that have the large knob on the end, which he called, "puck bats." He's got one for when he bats right-handed, and another for when he bats left-handed.

Reynolds really hasn't used these very often in game, and baseball players are know to be very superstitious. So, Reynolds could be sticking with them for the time being.

"Yeah, I’ll give it another couple games," Reynolds said with a smile.

• Mitch Keller logged four innings in a start for the first time this spring, and showed a lot of positive signs in the process. After giving up a solo homer to Michael Harris II in the first inning, Keller worked his way out of danger in the second inning and limited the damage to only one run. He followed by mowing down the opposition in the final two innings, striking out four of the last five batters he faced.

"To Michael Harris, I just put myself in a bad count and just tried to get into the zone," Keller said. "I mean, he got a good swing on it. I’m not sure if that’s a homer in PNC (Park), but it is here, so that’s all that matters. Just felt like I had a better rhythm and had more aggressiveness through Hedges back there. I definitely felt different the last two innings.

• Beyond Keller, the collective work of the pitching staff left a lot to be desired. Wil Crowe, Colin Selby and Yerry De Los Santos were very solid, all turning in a scoreless inning. However, Angel Perdomo and Yohan Ramirez were lit up in the sixth inning as Atlanta took a 7-3 lead with a five-spot. Then, Tyler Samaniego only logged 1/3 inning while earning four runs allowed in the ninth.

Definitely want to see more guys take the bull by the horns in the bullpen.

• With the World Baseball Classic picking up, we're starting to get some results on how Pirates players are performing while representing their respective countries.

David Bednar had a strong debut in the ninth inning of USA's 6-2 victory over Great Britain on Saturday night, hurling one shutout inning while striking out the side on 18 pitches. In the same game, Chavez Young went 1-for-4 with a single off LHP Kyle Freeland while representing Great Britain.

Like Bednar, Duane Underwood Jr. also had a strong WBC debut with a scoreless seventh inning in Puerto Rico’s 9-1 win over Nicaragua on Saturday. 

Tsung-Che Cheng went 1-for-3 with a RBI, a walk and a run scored in Chinese Taipei’s 9-5 win over the Netherlands on Saturday.Entering play on Sunday, Cheng is hitting .417 (5-for-12) with a triple, three RBIs and two walks in three games. On the Netherlands' side, Antwone Kelly threw a scoreless seventh inning in his first WBC appearance, and Josh Palacios went 0-for-3 at the plate. Palacios has recorded one RBI and one stolen base in three games.

The following Pirates players have yet to appear in the WBC, entering play on Sunday: Roansy Contreras and Luis Ortiz (Dominican Republic), Santiago Florez (Colombia) and Tahnaj Thomas (Great Britain).

• One of the fun things about doing our live files in the interactions we have with our subscribers. Shortly after I arrived at spring training, I fielded a question about who in the Pirates clubhouse could possibly fill the Steelers' void at inside linebacker. My initial reaction was Canaan Smith-Njigba. At 6-0 and 230 pounds, he's got decent enough size to play the position. And, he's an outfielder, so he's pretty spry.

I approached him about this Sunday morning, and he left no doubt in my mind I chose the right guy.

"Oh, I could definitely play linebacker," he said. "I could definitely play it."

He is brothers with Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who's bound to be a first-round selection in the upcoming NFL Draft, so I'd be really interested to see what he could do moving around on a football field.

I also asked him what he thinks he could run in the 40-yard dash, and he said he could beat 4.70. Too bad I didn't bring my stopwatch with me.

• 14 total runs scored in this one, and the game only lasted 2:34. I'm right alongside everyone else leading the pitch clock propaganda. This is amazing, and man, the sport needed it.