As the summer months approach, the excitement of Opening Day has subdued, and teams around baseball are buckling in for the marathon that is the Major League Baseball season. While the action on the field remains constant, there is plenty of news off of the field as well. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories of the week around MLB.
Bryan Reynolds Gets His Extension
After months of speculation, Pittsburgh Pirates’ outfielder Bryan Reynolds finally got his long-term deal. On Wednesday, the organization announced that they had signed the slugger to a seven-year extension worth $100 million in new money. There is also an option for the 2031 season.
The deal comes with a limited no-trade clause, but it does not include any opt-outs. The massive deal is the largest ever handed out by the Pirates’ organization.
For Reynolds, the 28-year-old outfielder has been a staple in the Pirates’ outfield for the last four seasons. Last season, he hit .262/.345/.461 with 27 home runs, 62 runs batted in, and 74 runs scored.
In 85 at bats this season, he is hitting .294/.319/.553 with five home runs and 18 runs batted in. This effort has helped the Pirates to a NL Central-leading 17-8 record, tied for the best in the National League.
Despite their strong start, they have just the fourth-best odds of winning the division at +1100.
Still, this is a step in the right direction towards becoming relevant again. While Bryan Reynolds might not be a superstar, he is a seriously talented player that Pirates’ fans can now cheer on for at least the next seven seasons.
Ray Done For The Season
After making the playoffs last season, the Seattle Mariners are hoping to make a run at the division this season. Unfortunately, they got some bad news this week as it was announced that former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray is being shut down for the season as he will undergo surgery to repair his flexor tendon.
In 2021, Ray won the Cy Young after going 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.045 WHIP, and 248 strikeouts in 193.1 innings with the Toronto Blue Jays. Signed that offseason by the Mariners, Seattle has not gotten quite the same level of production.
Last season, Ray went 12-12 with a 3.71 ERA and this year he lost his lone start and gave up three earned runs in 3.1 innings of work. Now out for the season, the Mariners will hope that he can recover a bounce back next year.
As it stands, Seattle has fallen to just the fourth-best odds of winning the AL West at +550. Luckily, they still have some serious talent in the pitching staff including Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby making a formidable top of the rotation.
Diamondbacks And Bumgarner Part Ways
For years, Madison Bumgarner was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. On Wednesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks officially announced that they had released the 33-year-old lefty.
After a stretch of years where he went 93-61 from 2011 to 2016, Bumgarner was widely considered one of the best lefties in MLB. In 2020, he left the Giants to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but his success did not follow.
In his fourth season with Arizona, he had gone just 15-36 over 69 combined starts for the Diamondbacks. In four games this season, he was 0-3 with a whopping 10.26 ERA.
Bumgarner’s five-year, $85 million contract went through next season, but the Diamondbacks felt they were in a position where they just couldn’t keep running him out every five days. Given that they currently sit first in the NL West, it is hard to blame them.
As it stands, Arizona has the third-best odds of winning the division at +1500.
