Over the last few years, Bryan Reynolds hasn’t had much help around him in the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup beyond Oneil Cruz and Andrew McCutchen, putting a lot of pressure on him to drive the offense.
That won’t be the case this year, however, as the Pirates finally have some proven sluggers to help him carry the load.
Pittsburgh loaded up on bats this offseason, acquiring former All-Stars Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna. The Pirates also have a pair of young breakout candidates in Konnor Griffin and Jhostynxon Garcia who appear poised to help.
At spring training on Monday, Reynolds weighed in on his new teammates and their potential impact on Pittsburgh’s lineup, which ranked last in runs, home runs and OPS last season.
Pirates two-time All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds on what the additions of sluggers Brandon Lowe, Marcell Ozuna and Ryan O’Hearn mean to the lineup. pic.twitter.com/XV9t45kYV3
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 16, 2026
“I’m excited about it,” the two-time All-Star told Kevin Gorman of Tribune-Review Sports. “Spring’s just a little different now. Different vibes, different thoughts and everything. So it’s fun to just build off of that…Everybody we added, been really happy to see.”
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The 31-year-old outfielder is heading into his eighth season with the Pirates. He’s never made the playoffs or experienced a winning season in the Major Leagues, but that could be about to change if Pittsburgh’s new additions perform as hoped.
They might also help Reynolds bounce back from the worst full season of his career, as he slumped to a .720 OPS last year while setting a career high in strikeouts. If he returns to form, that would also give the Pirates a considerable boost.
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