Before Announcing Pirates Outfielder Bryan Reynolds’ Record Contract, Team Owner Bob Nutting Gifted Him Bourbon

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds (right) celebrates signing a contract extension through the 2030 baseball season with Pirates owner Bob Nutting, during a meeting with reporters on April 26 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Before announcing that outfielder Bryan Reynolds had signed a record-breaking contract extension, Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting gave the All-Star a bottle of bourbon.

In April, Reynolds signed the extension, an eight-year contract worth $106.75 million. It was the largest contract in Pirates history and the biggest ever signed by an MLB outfielder who was drafted out of college.

Before Reynolds and his family entered the media room at PNC Park to announce the signing, they chatted with Nutting in a board room, and the owner gifted Reynolds a bottle of bourbon from Pittsburgh distillery Wigle Whiskey, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Once independently owned, Wigle Whiskey sold its operation to Pittsburgh Spirits, which Nutting owns. At the time of the sale, many fans of Wigle were displeased and accused the company of selling out.

About a week before signing the deal, Reynolds met with Nutting.

“It was cool that the owner of the team would take the time to seek me out, then have a 30-minute-long meeting with me,” Reynolds told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Very candid. It was great. He came across as a pretty normal guy who cares.”

The pair discussed details about the contract: years, salary and the Pirates’ unwillingness to include an opt-out clause after the fourth year, which Reynolds said he had wanted in case he ended up being traded to a destination where he wasn’t happy.

“We just talked like two normal guys,” Reynolds said. “It wasn’t like I was talking to a billionaire or anything. He was very honest. I was very honest. He took everything I said well. We just tried to figure out where everybody was at.”

Reynolds, 28, was drafted out of Vanderbilt by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Reynolds made his major-league debut on April 20, 2019, for the Pirates.

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