Ke’Bryan Hayes is the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Opening Day starting third baseman. He has not requested a trade out of Pittsburgh, nor are the New York Yankees currently touching base regarding his services. Everything is fine. Pay no attention to Pirates owner Bob Nutting’s weird fluttering eyebrow.
On an unrelated note, the Pirates have signed utility man Adam Frazier to add to their already ridiculous collection of infield utility men, which currently includes (takes the deepest breath of all time) Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Billy Cook, Nick Yorke, Liover Peguero, Alika Williams, and Ji Hwan Bae.
Don’t believe me that everything is, at the moment, completely normal and on the level? Just take a look at this second base depth chart!
The Pirates’ second base depth chart is what peak performance looks like pic.twitter.com/IEGOIxUQkO
— Adam Weinrib (@AdamWeinrib) January 30, 2025
Ah, yes. A return to the glory days, when men were men and 14 different people played the same position. Of course, several of these guys are also left fielders, right fielders, and third basemen, and adding Frazier to the equation helps shore up all of those positions, too.
It also helps protect against, say, a developing rift with Hayes and/or a back injury that just won’t heal. According to Michael Kay, Hayes’ father Charlie has had issues with the Pirates’ development system, and Kay believes the Yankees should be inquiring about rolling the dice on importing the rest of the third baseman’s eight year, $70 million deal with a team option for 2030. It’s certainly a long-term commitment for a player whose offense was sucked into a black hole as his back injury worsens, but as Kay noted, even if the pop never comes back, the defense will make him a positive-WAR player if he can stay remotely healthy.
If you believe the Pirates, there’s no chance he’s available, but actions (eg, collecting backup options) speak louder than words (reported and relayed through the Pittsburgh media).
Yankees should keep considering Ke’Bryan Hayes trade with Pirates after latest strange move
Anyone interested in trading for the next three expensive years of Nolan Arenado should be far more intrigued by Hayes, who comes with five more seasons at under $10 million per year; no arbitration necessary.
Hayes is far from a sure bet, but he’s only one year removed from his second consecutive 4.0+ bWAR season. Even with a 61 OPS+ last year, as he was fighting through a very obvious cause of his scuffles, he managed to come out on the positive side with an 0.8 bWAR.
Hayes may never bounce back to his full potential, but it’s a relatively inexpensive bet — well, slightly more expensive than Adam Frazier, but still.
