Perrotto: Pirates-Ke’Bryan Hayes Split Benefits Everyone
Sometimes, relationships run their course.
There is no specific moment when the ties break. It’s not necessarily a fight or argument that causes the split.
Often, it is simply a matter of two sides growing apart. That was the case with Ke’Bryan Hayes and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Hayes was tired of playing for a losing team year after year. The Pirates were weary of a third baseman who hit just two home runs in 100 games this season after going deep four times in 96 games last year.
So, a split was inevitable, and it happened on Wednesday when the Pirates traded Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds for left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers and a prospect.
This divorce comes without acrimony. Hayes doesn’t hate the Pirates, and general manager Ben Cherington and manager Don Kelly don’t hate him.
It just became clear this season that Hayes was never going to become the cornerstone player the Pirates were expecting when they signed him to an eight-year, $70-million contract before the home opener in 2022.
It was a festive day, with the Pirates giving Hayes the largest contract in Pirates history, a remarkable 21 years after signing Jason Kendall to a six-year, $ 60 million deal before the 2001 season.
Instead, Hayes was like a millstone in the Pirates’ batting order. He finishes his Pirates career with a .254/.307/.369 slash line, 39 home runs, and 61 stolen bases over six seasons.
Hayes had his good moments.
He burst onto the MLB scene during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season by hitting .376/.442/.682 with five home runs in 24 games in spectator-less stadiums. The small sample size raised expectations that Hayes would never be able to meet. A .376 batting average in 24 games during a weird season never meant he was going to be Ted Williams.
Hopes for Hayes rose again when he had a big second half in 2023. In 49 games, he slashed .299/.335/.539 while belting 10 homers.
However, Hayes’ last two seasons at the plate have been awful. Chronic back problems are likely a contributing factor.
Some Pirates’ sources, though, say that Hayes was not receptive to hitting coach Matt Hague or his predecessors, Rick Eckstein and Andy Haines. Hayes never openly criticized any of the three. Still, the Pirates were unhappy when the third baseman went to Altoona to secretly work with Jon Nunnally, the hitting coach of Pittsburgh’s Double-A farm club, in 2022.
The Pirates are facing criticism from some fans for trading Hayes because of his outstanding defense. Hayes is a fabulous fielder who won a National League Gold Glove in 2023 and has 92 defensive runs saved in 570 career games at third base.
Hayes can make the most difficult plays look routine.
However, pitching and defense can only take a team so far. That’s especially true for the Pirates, who are last in MLB in runs scored and home runs among other categories.
Hayes’ run prevention could no longer outweigh his anemic offense. And don’t discount how much the Pirates like the idea that they were able to get the Reds to assume all $36 million remaining on the four years of Hayes’ contract from 2025-28.
Wednesday was as good a time as any for both sides to part ways and move on.