Bryan Reynolds doesn’t need reminders of how high the standard he holds himself to. For years, he’s been one of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top players, perhaps the only guy on the roster that fans want up at the dish in big moments.
However, 2025 was ugly, and for a player who is on a decent contract, he lost a lot of value around the league. While Reynolds still had value, the season didn’t show the player he expected, or the one the organization needed. The play dipped, the consistency was down, and frankly, it just wasn’t good.
Rather than pushing it to the side, Reynolds admitted that he needs to be better and has been focused on doing so this winter. This winter has been about adjustment, both mechanically and mentally, as he works to find the swing path that once made him one of the better hitters in the league.
“I’ve been trying to get back to that barrel move,” Reynolds told the Post-Gazette. “The barrel gets on plane super early, then you have more chances.”
Reynolds believes last season’s issues were from timing and swing plane, which hurt his margin for error against elite velocity, which is something all hitters have to deal with these days, given how hard pitchers throw.
“I feel like my swing and path are completely different than they were last year,” Reynolds said. “Time will tell when I get in against 97 [mph]. But I like how it’s trending.”
The adjustments come at an important moment and not just for Reynolds, but for the Pirates as a whole. Pittsburgh enters 2026 with more expectations than it has had in a long time. Reynolds has seen optimism before, but this offseason has felt different to him.
“It’s been really nice,” Reynolds said. “I like what we’ve been trying to do offensively. It’s a different vibe going into spring. I feel like the past few years there’s always been just a hope, maybe we’ll come into spring and shock the world. This year, it feels like there’s some realness behind it, some realness behind the potential…
“Spring training is really long, so you have plenty of time to get to know one another and build that team chemistry,” Reynolds added. “Also, it’s gonna be Donny’s first spring training as manager. That’s gonna be fun to see how he is in that environment. “I know when I signed, I wanted to be on a good, competitive team that has a real shot of making the playoffs and going on a run. I feel like we’ve started to build that team. Now, we just have to get out there and perform.”