Baseball fans shocked by Bryan Reynolds' surprisingly cheap extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates : "They robbed him"

Last off-season, Bryan Reynolds requested a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Teams like the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers were linked to him, but the Pirates refused to deal him, citing that they'd need a Juan Soto-level return to make a move.

Early on in this season, the Pirates have been surprisingly good and they just extended Reynolds for eight more seasons. The frustrated outfielder has evidently changed his mind and will now stay in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future.

For eight years and $106.75 million, Reynolds will remain a Pirate. For an All-Star caliber outfielder who is young, that's an absolute steal. Many MLB fans are impressed with the Pirates but also stunned by the perceived lunacy of Reynolds' agent.

Reynolds' new deal puts him on par with Aaron Hicks ($10 million), Ryan McMahon ($11.7 million), Yoan Moncada ($14 million) and Chris Taylor ($15 million). Reynolds would be considered better and more valuable than a lot of his new financial peers, so this was a steal for the Pirates.

As for Reynolds, it is a surprise he agreed to this. He had previously stated that he did not want to remain a Pirate and then turned around and agreed to a team-friendly deal to stay there for the better part of a decade.

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Bryan Reynolds and the Pirates are off to a hot start

Bryan Reynolds playing well could have been predicted. He's an All-Star and one of the best young outfielders out there. Having a down season would have been a surprise.

Bryan Reynolds is off to a hot start

The opposite is true of the Pittsburgh Pirates as a whole. They've shocked the baseball world with a 16-7 start to the season. That leads the NL Central by a full game.

Everything has worked for them, even after losing Oneil Cruz to a fractured ankle. Reynolds and company have driven this team to an excellent start and could get them back to the playoffs this year.