Pirates TRADE ALERT: Ke’Bryan Hayes dealt to Reds for Taylor Rogers, Sammy Stafura

Pirates TRADE ALERT: Ke’Bryan Hayes dealt to Reds for Taylor Rogers, Sammy Stafura

Hello everybody. It is Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My name is Adam Bner, assistant sports editor for Multimedia at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Joined for some breaking Pirates news here on our Post Gazette Pirates YouTube channel by Colin Beasley, our Pirates insider, because uh Colin, the Pirates have traded Kibrian Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds. Um, it was a deal that’s been anticipated for some weeks, I think, in including byer Jason Mackey on our uh, weekly chat that him and I hold usually on Thursdays. Um, Brian Hayes obviously did not live up to a lot of people’s expectations at the plate, was a great defender for his time here, um, but did kind of seem to become a little bit of a luxury piece for a team that needs building blocks. Um, so the Pirates end up trading him to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Taylor Rogers, the veteran reliever. Uh, pretty solid, but he’s on an expiring contract. And then, um, Sammy Stfura, a, uh, single A prospect who was hitting 262 with an 804 OPS down in Daytona, Florida, uh, this season. Colin, I guess before we dig into the details here, what are your initial thoughts on this this trade and this return? Yeah, I I I don’t know if I was expecting Kubrian Hayes to get traded. I know that there were a lot of a lot of fans that wanted him to be traded. I know that there was obviously some interest in the Pirates and in trading him as well, but I I don’t know if I was necessarily expecting a deal. Originally, I thought that the Yankees could be a good fit. Obviously, that ended up happen ended up not happening when they got Ryan McMahon. Um, so once that happened, I kind of just assumed that Kabrian Hayes would stick around. Obviously did not happen today. As for the my initial thoughts on the return, I I like it to be honest. I think that Safura is a pretty uh pretty good asset. He’s 20. He’s shown some intriguing traits. His his speed is something that’s definitely noted as as something that is a strength of his. Um he’s got four homers, 48 RBI’s, and 28 stolen bases. but he also has nine triples, which was the second most in the Florida State League. I guess probably still is considering he’ll he’ll probably stay at at Bradon. I think that he’s an intriguing piece and someone I’m looking forward to following. But of course, the biggest piece of this is the fact that the Pirates will have added flexibility know that now that Hayes is no longer on the roster. Eight years and 70 million isn’t is is a isn’t the worst. isn’t the isn’t like an albatross of a contract, but having him off the books will allow the Pirates to reinvest and it’ll give them opportunity to add at the third base position. Third base is somewhere where it’s possible to get offensive production. It’s possible to find someone with a little bit more pop, little bit who can hit for extra bases, who can hit for average, who can just all around be an upgrade from Brian Hayes. And I think this that this gives the Pirates both financial flexibility to do so and just the opportunity to add a third baseman instead of saying that Kabrian Hayes will be your third baseman through 2030. So I like the move. Those are my initial first thoughts. I think there are going to be some skeptics. I might count myself among them. Colin, especially when we’re talking about a middle infield prospect acquired by Ben Cherington. Um, we we’ve gone through this plenty of times before. Leo Paggero, you draft Nick Gonzalez. You’ve had guys like Jared Triolo play up the middle at different times. Um, they they haven’t been able to get these guys to stick, most of these middle infield guys for for most of the Cherington regime. Um, why should I feel differently? Um, if I’m a skeptic about Sammy Stfura compared to any other guys that that may have fit the exact same bill that Ben Sherington has acquired, I haven’t gone deep enough on Sammy Spur to know that for a fact. I’m not. He’s He’s in low A. He’s someone that that’s going to have to be developed considering that he was drafted out of high school. I think that the early returns of what the Reds have been able to do with him are good. I think that he’s certainly shown some promise, but whenever you get a guy who’s not in AAA or not a major league bat, which I don’t think they were going to get in this deal, whenever you get someone like that, it the the pressure is now on your development system to develop this guy and help him um achieve whatever his potential ends up being. I think that they’ve done well to get someone with potential. I think that this is someone who could be something who could develop into something worthwhile, but considering he is several years away, it’s he is someone that’s going to have to be developed. He is someone that the Pirates are going to have to work on some things. Whether that’s adding more pop, I mean, he’s only got four homers this year, whether that’ll just be simply developing him considering he’s 20 years old and and still still grow um growing physically. there there’s there’s a lot that’ll have to be done, but it is someone with potential. And I think that in a deal like this where um the biggest goal is to get some added flexibility, I think it’s good that you get someone with potential as well. Yeah. And I think there needs to be um some some realistic appraisal here in terms of of what you were offering in exchange to the Reds. Um, Kabrian Hayes for for as great as he is with the glove. Still was opsing in the five range. That’s horrific uh by current big league standards. Um, it’s just not good enough and and that’s why the Pirates were were hoping to unload the salary. So, to your point, I think Colin, the financial flexibility here is the biggest um win. So, so I think you have to look at any prospects you’re acquiring through that lens. Um, while we’re talking about money here, Taylor Rogers was the other piece acquired. Like I said at the top, he’s on an expiring deal. He is getting paid 12 million this year. So, the Pirates will still have to give him a decent chunk between here and the end of the year. Should we read anything into that other than than moving um financials around here here, Colin? And and saying, “Yeah, because the to be clear, the Reds are assuming Ryan Hayes full contract. Pirates aren’t paying them anything to get rid of him, but they are paying Taylor Rogers. Was that a little nod to, you know, that facet of the deal where the Pirates the Pirates are saying, “Well, we’re getting the contract off the books and the Reds are saying, “Well, you’re at least going to have to pay this guy on our books for the rest of the year.” Yeah, maybe a little bit. Like, this this isn’t necessarily a salary dump. From what from my understanding, from what what our our conversations have told us is that the money’s relatively similar for the rest of the year. Um, I think it it it maybe if it saves anything, it’s it’s very very little. But I am interested to see what they do with Rogers. He’s two and two. He’s got a an RA just over two. I think that he could have some value if the Pirates are trying to flip him, trying to see if someone else is interested in a solid um solid reliever. That said, he is definitely paid a little bit more than you want from a guy who’s just going to be a setup guy. He’s not a leverage reliever the way a David Bednar is or the way a um Dennis Santana is, but considering he is a good reliever, he may still have some value. I’m curious to see whether the Pirates will immediately go and try and flip him for something else or whether they’ll just hold on to him because he he’s a serviceable reliever, but I don’t know how much of a market there is for him considering he’s a little bit expensive. If he doesn’t move, do you think there’s room for criticism of the deal in terms of saying, “Hey, couldn’t we have gotten a a another prospect? Even if it was a dart throw, lottery ticket type of guy that you could slide in with Sammy Stafer being the headline of the return, you know, get another guy who’s who’s young, projectable, but but certainly far from a sure thing.” Well, I mean, there’s always room for criticism of of any deal, regardless of what it is. I mean, it’s Ben Cherington has talked repeatedly about how in trades both sides assume some risk and that’s that’s that’s true. There’s always risk that this doesn’t turn out or Kaman Hayes figures out that figures out his hitting hit what’s his hitting struggles and he turns into a really good hitter at a great American ballpark. There are a lot of people who have gone to Cincinnati and have ended up hitting better just because that ballpark’s relatively easy to hit in for whatever reason. It’s offense plays up there. So maybe that could help there. But I don’t mind the return at all. I think that the number one thing that the number one prize of this is uh getting the flexibility of no longer having Kabrian Hayes, whether that’s just the money or having someone else that could potentially be your 2026 opening day first base. And we’ll obviously see what happens this winter on that. I’d say number one is getting the flexibility, being able to add some more offense at third base, but then number two is Stfura. I think that he is a solid prospect. He’s the Red’s number nine overall prospect as you mentioned. He’s got potential as we’ve talked about. He’s got speed. I think there’s a chance that he does end up being something. So, I like the deal. Obviously, you can criticize it, but I I I don’t have any issues with this return. We’re going to talk about Kabrian Hayes um what went wrong as as a guy who held at one point so much promise for Pirates fans. We’re going to talk about the plans of third base moving forward. Before we do that though, we want to pass along a message from our friends at Greenwalt Roofing. Hey Pittsburgh, when you think of great roofs, you think Greenwalt Roofing Company. With over 20 years experience, Greenwalt knows your roof is your home’s first line of defense from rain, wind, snow, and ice. That’s why Greenalt Roofing standard for perfection is so important. You can trust that their team of experienced installers will treat your property like it’s their own. When it comes to roof replacements, Greenwald Roofing is Pittsburgh’s only choice. Visit greenowroofing.com today or call 412-314882 to schedule your free estimate. PA contractor number 36262. We are back here on the Pirates YouTube channel. It’s Adam Bitner with Colin Beasley talking about the KBrian Hayes trade. Um, Colin, I think a part that we can’t ignore in all this is that Krian Hayes was the future at one point. We talk about the future a lot with this franchise that never seems to arrive, but more than anyone else, he was he was the guy that signed that first extension under Ben Sharing, the f the first big one. Um, there was a lot of celebration. It was opening day in St. Louis a few years back. Um, it it was try they were trying to evoke when Andrew McCutchen took that that long extension in 2012. um that led to the playoff years and and that that was kind of the first building block of that. The Pirates were hope hoping to repeat that. It didn’t it didn’t work out that way with Cabrian Hayes. There were injuries. There was ineffectiveness at the plate. Um what went wrong? What level of culpability do the Pirates and the Ben Cherington development regime have for that? And um you know, how how are fans going to remember this this period in Pirates history from 2020 to now? I mean, I haven’t I haven’t been around for longer than this season, so I think I can’t really answer on what exactly went wrong and when the downhills started or anything like that, but simply looking at statistics, the bat never never ended up being what it what it looked like it could be considering how well he played in 2020 and early in 2021. He uh he hit 271 in in 2023. That looked good, but then 233 last year, 233 this year. uh he just hasn’t hit for average and he hasn’t had the the power that you want in one of the games preminent offensive positions at first base. Some of that is injury related. I know that he’s um struggled a lot with his bat or his back over the last couple years. I know that it’s something that he has to manage and something that it’s it’s something he’ll have to deal with for the rest of his career. But also, he just simply even when he has been fully healthy, he hasn’t managed to hit as well as the Pirates have needed him to hit. Whether that’s on him, whether that’s on development, whether that’s on all sorts of different things, I don’t I don’t really know. I don’t have a full answer to that. But the the number one thing is he simply hasn’t hit as well as he was expected to when he signed that 8year $70 million contract extension. Here’s the thing for for me, Colin. think what went wrong is that the Pirates failed to build build anything around Key Brian Hayes offensively. I think he would have been a great finishing piece. I think he would have been you would have taken his defense at third base and what he provided. I remember writing at the time that if you go into, you know, the price per win and and what what it would take to pay off uh the contract that his defense alone could have paid off the contract, but you were banking on paying for the defense and getting some even if it wasn’t spectacular offense, even if it wasn’t 8 850 OPS, you know, something in the sevens to go along with that great glove. That’s all-star production level. Um, you know, certainly on a wins above replacement scale. Um, but he was never meant to kind of be the offensive cornerstone. And I think that focused even more attention on the fact that he was never able to get the bat to develop because he he ended up needing to be that guy for this team to succeed. He wasn’t and and the team did not. So, I don’t I don’t I think there’s certainly some disappointment there in how you developed him as a hitter, but I think there’s also the the more global picture of you failed to put the pieces around him to be successful with him. And I think that’s um probably the the bigger upshot there, Colin. I think we know now I and and when you look at where what he’ll be in Cincinnati where he’s going to be paired with Ellie De la Cruz on that left side of the infield, they’ve got someone who can handle a lot of the a lot of the bat at shortstop. Like they have their power guy on the left side of the infield. He’s their shortstop. So you can get someone who’s a bit of a defensive upgrade at third base there. that that helps the Reds. That’s somewhere where they’re not looking for offense as badly as the Pirates are looking for offense. Kabrian Hayes could be a really good fit. So, I’m I’m interested in seeing what he ends up being. I think that it’s likely that he ends up paying off the contract with his defense in a place where they don’t necessarily need him to be as good offensively as the Pirates needed him to be here. Well, maybe he gets a boost playing more games in that ballpark. Um maybe those numbers look a little bit better. you know, over over the years because he’s not uh hitting to to left field at PNC Park. He’s hitting in that band box that is great American ballpark. So, you have that going for him. You do have other offensive pieces around. You got a team that’s just closer to being a contender than the Pirates are. Um even if Cincinnati’s dealing with a similar deck of cards, Colin, we know um Jared Triel is coming back to play third base. Um, is this a is this a last chance to for him to prove that that he can be a part of of this club’s future if if he’s going to get the next couple of months here, assuming now granted there’s still pieces that that can move at the trade deadline. You can still bring someone in who’s going to play third base, but as we sit here at the moment, he’s the third baseman. What does that mean for him moving forward? Yeah, I think he’ll get the opportunity to be the be close to the everyday third baseman throughout the rest of the season, but he’s kind of you kind of know what you’re getting out of him and it it’s kind of a cheaper Cabrian Hayes in some ways, a little bit worse offense like that. He is a comparable player and he certainly is a lot cheaper there. I think that the Pirates are still going to be looking to add some pop in that position over the off season or potentially even over the next couple days, but more likely in the offseason. I think that probably the opening day third baseman is not on the roster at the moment. Even if Jared Trielo does come up and perform well, but with Jared Trio getting this opportunity, I think this is more an opportunity to show that he does belong as a big leager. But I think that would be more as a super utility bench guy. I think that’s probably the ideal spot for Jared Triolo. But I I do think he’ll have an opportunity. I just don’t think it’ll be to prove that he’s the answer at third base. Does this trade tell you anything about their intentions over the next day and a half, Colin, in terms of Mitch Keller, David Bednar, their willingness to move on from some of these um you know, cornerstones of what they had been building? Um or is it a separate maybe a separate conversation because those guys are performing to a degree that that Krian Hayes was not? Yeah, I think I think it’s separate. I think that this gives you some flexibility and I think that this is something that the Pirates had probably hoped to do regardless of that. Um, but no, I I don’t I don’t necessarily think that the this move is related to any future moves. It does mean that they are officially selling, but we we kind of knew that already when they traded away Adam Frasier and considering how far under the under 500 they are. Yes, I agree, Colin. Uh well, thank you for joining me. We’re going to get you back out there uh to reporting. So, everyone else, please stay tuned to the Pirates YouTube channel. Um subscribe if you haven’t haven’t already. We’ll have a lot more MLB Trade Deadline coverage. Whether this is it for the Pirates in terms of of deals or whether it’s just beginning uh between now and 6 p.m. on Thursday. So, subscribe, like this video if you enjoyed it. Help us out in the YouTube algorithm. We always appreciate that. And we will talk to you again real soon. 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Post-Gazette Pirates insider Colin Beazley joins host Adam Bittner to react to news that the club has traded Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for veteran reliever Taylor Rogers and prospect Sammy Stafura ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Did GM Ben Cherington get enough in return for his third baseman who’s struggled with the plate but owns one of the best gloves in the game at his position? Can Stafura develop in this system where names like Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales and others have not over the years? What can we expect from Jared Triolo and the likely new every day third baseman? And what does this deal signal about Cherington’s intentions with Mitch Keller, David Bednar and others? Our duo tackles those questions and more.

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