'Speak up': Pirates stars Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds vow to be more vocal leaders

They were traded for one another in one of the most controversial moves in recent Pittsburgh Pirates history, a deal that sent franchise icon Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco for an unproven Bryan Reynolds.

The two have tiptoed around that topic the past two seasons, even as they formed the heart of the Pirates’ order. Reynolds wrestled with the pressure of replacing McCutchen as the Pirates’ most productive player, only for McCutchen to return in 2023 following a five-year hiatus.

Now, as they enter their third season as teammates, McCutchen and Reynolds have vowed to become more vocal leaders for the Pirates.

“That’s something that I could probably do a little more of,” Reynolds said last month at PiratesFest. “I said (in a radio interview that) I’m not going to change who I am and get in the middle of the clubhouse and scream and holler and do all that. But I think I got better at it last year, too, just keep building that and saying things when they need to get said, little things here and there. I think for me it’s more so being in there every day, playing the game the right way, that’s also leading to it.”

McCutchen and Reynolds, respectfully, are the Pirates’ most accomplished players. The former is a five-time All-Star and 2013 National League MVP who ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in almost every offensive category and is coming off the 10th 20-homer season of his 16-year career. The latter is a two-time All-Star and three-time team MVP who led the Pirates in games played, plate appearances, runs, hits, batting average, on-base percentage, home runs and RBIs.

“I think you see the maturation of his at-bats,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Reynolds. “He knows how to navigate at-bats.”

Now, as both are on the other side of 30, they are focused less on their numbers and more on finding ways to win. It’s been nine years since the Pirates reached the postseason, back when McCutchen was still in his prime and Reynolds was only in his sophomore season at Vanderbilt.

The 38-year-old McCutchen hopes to continue his climb into the club’s record books by passing a trio of Hall of Famers. His 235 home runs as a Pirates are five shy of tying Roberto Clemente for third place in franchise history, and McCutchen is 35 RBIs behind Bill Mazeroski for fifth place and needs 43 hits to pass Arky Vaughan for ninth place.

“He’s had a remarkable career,” Shelton said of McCutchen. “It’s been so cool to see him in a Pirates uniform, doing what he’s done over the last couple years.”

McCutchen had a .232/.328/.411 slash line with 18 doubles, 20 homers and 50 RBIs in 120 games last season, leading the team in walks, finishing third in runs, hits, homers and fourth in slugging percentage.

That didn’t stop a Pirates fan from asking general manager Ben Cherington in a Q&A session why they signed the 38-year-old McCutchen to another one-year, $5 million deal to serve as designated hitter instead of giving an opportunity to one of their younger players.

“In Cutch’s case, we respect the heck out of everything he’s done as a player and his history in Pittsburgh. He’s an icon. He’s the greatest player for the Pirates in the last 30 years, all of those things,” Cherington said. “That’s not why he’s re-signed. He’s re-signed because we believe there’s a role on the team for him that helps us win games.

“He can still do things — he’s not the same player as he was 12 years ago — but he can still do things on the field to help us win games. Period. Full stop. And then, the other piece is, once you establish that, does the player want to be here? Do we line up on a contract? In that case, Cutch really wants to be here, really wants to be a part of this when we’re winning, and that matters to us. So it’s those two things coming together.”

Reynolds, who turned 30 on Jan. 27, has batted .276/.352/.470 with 122 homers and 411 RBIs in 794 games over six seasons with the Pirates. Those numbers aren’t far behind McCutchen’s .299/.385/.498 slash line with 128 homers and 462 RBIs over 880 games in his first six seasons here. The big difference is that while McCutchen served as the catalyst of a turnaround that ended two decades of losing seasons with three consecutive wild-card playoff berths, Reynolds has yet to experience a winning season with the Pirates.

That’s something he desperately wants to change in 2025.

“I think everybody should come into the season expecting to win and expecting to change the narrative and have a different season than we’ve had in the past,” said Reynolds, who signed an eight-year, $106.75 million contract in April 2023. “So, I think everybody should come in ready to win, expect that and do what it takes to do it.”

This time, McCutchen is ready to take on a greater leadership role with Reynolds. Where McCutchen is revered in the Pirates’ clubhouse for his resume, he’s also a decade older than the majority of his teammates. So, McCutchen realizes he might have to be more assertive in speaking up, even if it goes against his more reserved nature.

“You are who you are,” McCutchen said of Reynolds. “Sometimes, you have to force things because you do it for the greater good of the team. He is a guy who’s very to himself. He’s not going to be the guy to speak up or talk. But there are times that if he is feeling a certain way about something, good or bad, it may be good for him to speak up and say something.”

McCutchen believes it would be helpful if he and Reynolds take more active leadership roles, instead of always doing so by example, but adds that it’s a team-wide responsibility that rests not just on the veterans.

“Just because B-Rey is who he is and has been around for a little bit now, ‘OK, time to speak up,’ ” McCutchen said. “You don’t have to be that, either. I was never that. I’m still not. I’m not a guy who’s like, ‘Let me speak because I’m a veteran. I was a part of playoff runs. Everyone knows me.’ I’m not going to be a guy who should speak because of that. I speak because I feel it here, then I say something because I know that people will listen.

“Now, should I do that more? Probably. I probably should force that more, times where I don’t really want to. No, do it. That’s for me. But if we can do it as a whole, it can be anybody from myself to Jared Jones, speak up. We come in, we need to do it together, as a whole. Don’t depend on the person next to you to say something. Let’s all say it together, and we’ll help each other.”