Pirates All 40: Offense Needs Healthy, Productive Ke’Bryan Hayes

This is one in a series of stories breaking down members of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 40-man roster.

Ke’Bryan Hayes hopes an offseason back-strengthening program will lead to better results in 2025.

It would be difficult for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ third baseman to have a worse season than this year.

Hayes hit .233/.283/.290 with four home runs and 11 stolen bases in 96 games. The slash-line statistics were all career lows for the five-year veteran, and he struck out 75 times in 396 plate appearances while drawing 23 walks.

Back problems played a major role in Hayes’ struggles. He was on the injured list with low back inflammation from May 7-27 and from Aug. 18 until the end of the season.

Advanced metrics illustrate how Hayes struggled to create torque in his swing. His 2.4 barrel percentage was in just the third percentile of major-league hitters and his 29.9 sweet spot contact percentage was in the eighth percentile.

Hayes became the first Pirates player to be the opening-day third baseman in four consecutive seasons since Pedro Alvarez from 2011-14. Hayes then had multiple hits in the first four games, the first Pirate to do that since Barry Bonds in 1988.

However, Hayes struggled through most of the rest of the year. He went through slumps of 0 for 16, 1 for 16, 1 for 21 and finally 1 for 24 to end his season.

Defensively, Hayes had another good season. Despite his limited playing time, he was credited with 10 defensive runs. He had 24 DRS in 2022 and 21 in 2023, when he won an NL Gold Glove.

The 27-year-old Hayes remains a key player for the Pirates. There is no better defensive third baseman in the game when he is healthy. Hayes isn’t likely to become a 30-home run guy but does provide good gap power.

The Pirates are also committed to Hayes for the long term. He has five years and $43 million remaining on the eight-year, $ 90-million contract he signed early in the 2022 season.

During the second half of the 2023 season, Hayes showed he can be an impact hitter. He batted .299/.335/.539 with 10 homers in 49 games.

If Hayes can come close to regaining that form, it would provide a big boost to an offense that finished 24th in the major leagues in runs scored this past season. And that would give the Pirates better value on his contract.