Cincinnati Reds Announce Decision on $70 Million Infielder

The Cincinnati Reds placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list Friday with a left groin strain, another blow in a season already defined by injuries and a collapsing bat.

The move is retroactive to Thursday. Infielder Edwin Arroyo was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to take his roster spot.

Hayes last played Wednesday in San Francisco, going 1-for-4 in a 10-9 win before Tyler Stephenson pinch-hit for him in the ninth.

There was no immediate public detail on when the groin strain occurred. It is his second IL trip of 2026. He previously missed from May 21 to July 9 with a lumbar bulging disc, a problem that has followed him for years.

The numbers explain why Cincinnati is in no rush. Hayes, 29, is hitting a career-low .153 with a .213 on-base percentage, .250 slugging percentage and .463 OPS. He has five home runs and eight RBIs in 78 games.

Even after a modest August uptick, the offensive production has not justified everyday at-bats. His value has always been the glove. He won Gold Gloves in 2023 with Pittsburgh and again in 2025 after the Reds acquired him from the Pirates near last year’s trade deadline.

Defense only carries a player so far when the bat is this quiet.

That acquisition still carries a long financial tail. In April 2022, Hayes signed an eight-year, $70 million extension with Pittsburgh that runs through 2029 and includes a club option for 2030.

It was the largest guarantee in Pirates history at the time and bought out several free-agent years for a then-25-year-old with just over a year of service.

Cincinnati inherited the remaining years of that deal when it traded for him. The contract now sits at the center of a roster problem: an elite defender who cannot stay healthy or hit enough to hold third base, with guaranteed money still on the books.

Arroyo, 23, returns for a second stint after making his debut in June. He hit .244 with a .568 OPS in 44 big-league games before being optioned July 30, then produced well at Louisville.

He will give the Reds another infield option while Hayes is out. Manager Terry Francona and the front office have not said how long the groin strain will keep Hayes sidelined. With Cincinnati sitting well out of the race and September approaching, there is little incentive to push him back if the injury lingers.

For a player once viewed as a franchise cornerstone in Pittsburgh, the path has been injury, a trade, and two IL stints in one year in Cincinnati. The glove is still there. The rest of the package has not held up.