Reds: What do make of Ke’Bryan Hayes?
At last season’s trade deadline, the Reds acquired 28-year old Ke’Bryan Hayes from the Pirates in exchange for pitcher Taylor Rogers, shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura and cash consideration.
I’ll admit it, I didn’t understand it then.
And even though Hayes dazzled in the field over the final two months with the Reds, I still don’t understand it today.
I get the Reds were looking to improve their defense, and leaned into that with the best fielding 3B in the game. It allowed them to move Noelvi Marte off a position he was struggling at.
But ………I don’t get taking on all ALL three of these scenarios with Hayes:
Four more years of a contract, with $30M guaranteed: $7M in 2026-2027, and $8M in 2028-2029…with a $12M option in 20230.
An offensive black hole in the lineup. His .596 OPS was 2nd worst among qualified hitters in 2025.
Chronic back issues. A degenerative disc issue that landed him on the IL five times between 2022-2024.
In 2025, he hit just .235-.290-.306-.595 with just 24 extra-base hits, five home runs and 49 runs batted in.
Is it reasonable to think there is more offense within Hayes?
Could Hayes come anywhere close to his only quality offensive season in his six year career, 2023?
He hit .271-.309-.453-.762 with an OPS+ of 103. He contributed 31 doubles, 14 HR and 61 RBI.
Through the years, teams have used a field-first player, and accepted offensive shortcomings, at positions like catcher, shortstop, and centerfield.
Measuring offensive numbers and impact is easy. Measuring defensive numbers and impact is more nuanced and challenging.
How much does Hayes have to contribute offensively to make it worth running him out there every day, vs reaching a point of discussing Plan B?
That’s a whole bunch of questions, with the mostly likely answer being: Good luck.