delos Santos Newsletter: Big Opening Week for Bucs

Well. It’s been quite the week now, hasn’t it? 

Just hours prior to their Opening Day game, Ke’Bryan Hayes and the Pirates reached an agreement on an eight-year, $70 million extension, with a club option for a ninth season, and the deal was made official on Tuesday. That alone would’ve supplied enough good vibrations around Pittsburgh for at least a couple of weeks. But that, folks, was not all the front office has had up its sleeve. 

A week after the first reports of Hayes’ extension, the Pirates reached an agreement on a two-year deal with Bryan Reynolds to avoid arbitration. And right on cue, Reynolds went 2-for-3 — including a two-run home run for his second homer of the season — in Thursday night’s 9-4 win in the opener of a four-game series against the Nationals at PNC Park.

Combined with the flashes of fun on the field, it’s fair to say that the vibes are immaculate. Let us dive into the week that was.

REYNOLDS’ DEAL: NUTS AND BOLTS

Reynolds will be paid $6.75 million in 2022 and ’23, according to a source. With the Super Two designation, he still has two more years of arbitration in ’24 and ’25.

Both Reynolds and the Pirates discussed different contract structures before arriving at this deal.

“It feels great,” Reynolds said. “I’m really glad this is where we landed. Now, move forward and go through the season and grind.” 

It’s encouraging that the Pirates are spending to keep their franchise cornerstones around. That said, there is still ambiguity around Reynolds’ long-term future beyond his arbitration years. He’s set to become a free agent after 2025, and teams could still come calling for his services.

For now, though, the Pirates are expressing a commitment to keeping their stars in the black and gold.  

“I think that’s being shown, for sure,” Reynolds said. “You saw Ke’Bryan, now this, too. I think we’re definitely taking steps in the right direction.” 

EXCELLING AS RELIEVER

Wil Crowe has been a starter his entire life, and he led the Pirates in starts last season. But his maiden voyage to the bullpen cannot have gone any better. 

Across three relief appearances, he’s thrown seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts, allowing just one hit and three walks. On Wednesday, Crowe completed a rare three-inning save, his first save in his professional career. If there were any concerns about how he’d handle the transition to the bullpen, he’s quickly putting them to rest. 

When Crowe spoke to reporters following the save, a dollop of shaving cream was still visible in his ear, the remnants of the time-honored tradition where a team will celebrate a player’s personal milestone by dousing him in just about every non-toxic substance in sight.  

“Everything under the sun has been poured on me in the last 20 minutes,” Crowe said. 

Well, was it worth it? 

“Yeah, it’s always worth it,” he said. “It’s always fun. We always have a good time in here when something like that happens for anybody.” 

After Crowe pitched two scoreless innings against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Sunday, manager Derek Shelton described the performance as “probably about as good as I’ve seen Wil Crowe in two years.” Shelton cited Crowe’s tempo as a reliever, as well as the aggressiveness that comes with said tempo. 

A FIRST CAREER HIT

The Pirates are a young team. The cool thing about young teams is that they usually have a lot of players making their debut. And the cool thing about watching players make their debut is watching their reactions. Not just when they touch dirt and grass for the first time, but when they begin to check off milestones.

Such was the case for Diego Castillo. 

Castillo didn’t expect to play his first game in the fashion he did. But when Hayes exited after one inning due to injury on Opening Day, Castillo was thrust into a quasi-starter role.

He had his “Welcome to The Show” moment early. In his first plate appearance, Adam Wainwright struck him out on three pitches. He didn’t reach base that afternoon. 

“I was facing one of the greatest pitchers in history. I was thinking, ‘Put the ball in play,’ but he struck me out,” Castillo said with a smile. 

That first game, though, allowed Castillo to get the nerves out of the way. When he stepped to the plate two days later, he felt like himself again. Then, he continued to do what he had done all spring: hit. 

In a pinch-hit appearance on Saturday, Castillo smacked an opposite-field double for his first career hit, emphatically clapping his hands in celebration upon reaching second base. Following the game, Castillo revealed that he was able to locate his jubilant father in the stands, who had traveled from Venezuela to St. Louis.  

“I would describe that as the best moment of my life,” Castillo said with a faint tear in his eye. “One-hundred percent sure. I was waiting just for a base hit, but a double — amazing.”

And where will the ball go? 

“I’m going to give it to my mom,” Castillo said. “It’s for her. One-hundred percent sure. Nobody else deserves this more than her.”

A FIRST CAREER WIN

Continuing with the trend of milestones, 23-year-old Miguel Yajure recorded the first win of his Major League career on Sunday after pitching two scoreless innings of relief. Wins may have fallen out of vogue as a means of talent evaluation, but they remain a special milestone.  

“It feels really good,” Yajure said. “I had been waiting for it for a long time, trying to work hard. Feels really good to finally get it. I feel really, really happy.” 

“I thought it was really cool,” Shelton said. “He was very composed. It was a tough situation. He came in and got the heart of their order. He executed his pitches. He velocity played up, used his breaking ball. Very impressive.” 

The early returns on Yajure’s fastball were encouraging to see. Last season, Yajure’s fastball had an average velocity of 90.5 mph. In his first appearance of the season, Yajure’s fastball had an average velocity of 93.7 mph.  

TRIVIA

Who was the last Pirates player to wear No. 42 before it was retired across MLB in honor of Jackie Robinson?

• A. Jason Schmidt
  
• B. Lee Hancock
  
• C. Gary Varsho
  
• D. Paul Wagner
  

DOWN ON THE FARM: COMBINED NO-HITTER

On an otherwise unassuming Wednesday afternoon in Minneapolis, Clayton Kershaw was flirting with history. He’d gone seven innings without allowing a baserunner. Perfection was in sight. It just wasn’t in the cards. Kershaw was removed. The bullpen could not preserve the masterpiece. That the Dodgers still won was irrelevant; the day belonged to controversy. 

Just several hours later, 11 miles east of Target Field, Chase De Jong found himself in a similar situation. He, too, was making a run at history, albeit not the perfect kind: a no-hitter. Like Kershaw, it was time for De Jong’s evening to end. Unlike Kershaw, De Jong and his teammates would have reason to celebrate. 

On a frigid Minnesota night, De Jong, Austin Brice and Yerry De Los Santos combined to throw a no-hitter for Triple-A Indianapolis, the team’s first since 2012. De Jong did the heavy lifting, throwing seven no-hit innings with nine strikeouts and two walks. Brice and De Los Santos would finish the job from there, throwing a perfect eighth and ninth inning, respectively.  

THE VAULT

Adam Hyzdu makes diving catch to seal win 

Sept. 6, 2002 

The Pirates were well on their way to an 11-0 blowout of the Florida Marlins, and Hyzdu provided the finishing touches, fully extending to make a diving catch of Brian Banks’ trailing line drive to lock in the victory.  

TRIVIA ANSWER

A. Jason Schmidt

FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW

To subscribe to Pirates Beat, visit this page and mark “Pirates Beat” from our newsletter list. Make sure you’re following the Pirates or that they’re checked as your favorite team.