Pirates Infielder Losing Trade Interest

PITTSBURGH — Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes is one of the players that had early trade interest, but teams are reportedly looking away ahead of the deadline.

Hayes reportedly received trade interest from the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees as early as late June, with it highly likely the Pirates would trade him.

Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke on 93.7 The Fan that he hasn't heard much on the trade front with Hayes, especially with the New York Yankees trading for Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon.

"I haven't heard much on the Ke'Bryan Hayes front in a bit," Hiles said. "So I'll say it's a low percentage, just because, I mean, the New York Yankees were probably a very ideal landing spot for him. They have their third baseman now and all the other teams that are looking for third base help are probably shopping for Eugenio Suárez."

"I dont know how many teams are looking for just a defensive specialist at third base, so I'll put it low. I'll put it at 15%."

John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now and AP corroborated that sentiment from Hiles on 93.7 The Fan. He also said that he Pirates would have to take on a decent portion of the contract to get anything serious in return from Hayes.

"Well, the scouts and the front office people I've talked to, I don't think there's a whole lot of interest and I think, even though, by most team's standards, $36 milllion over four years after this year isn't too much, the Pirates would love to get rid of that contract, it's clear that it's just not going to work out for Ke'Bryan here, especially the hitter.

"I mean, he's a great defensive third baseman, but you got to be able to get more than two home runs, two-thirds of the way through the season from your starting third baseman.

"I think Ke's unhappy. He just seems like it. He rarely is ever in the clubhouse that we can talk to him before or after games, but I've been told by other people on the team that he's not happy here and he hasn't been for a while and he needs a change of scenery.

"I will say this. If they don't pay part of the contract down, they're not really going to get anything of value. Maybe a low level prospect in low-A ball or complex league or something like that. This is going to be salary relief if they do trade him."

Hayes hasn't had the greatest season from the plate for the Pirates, slashing .236/.279/.290 for an OPS of .569, with 86 hits in 365 at-bats, 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 36 RBIs and 18 walks to 81 strikeouts.

He changed his batting approach over the offseason, going with both hands instead of just a one-handed swing, which helps him with his chronic back problems, that held him to just 96 games in 2024.

Hayes won the Gold Glove Award at third base in 2023, with 21 defensive runs saved, a fielding run value of 13 and a 2.4 defensive WAR.

He is on track for his second Gold Glove Award in 2025, with 15 outs above average and 11 runs prevented, the most of any third baseman in baseball for both categories.

The Pirates took Hayes with the 32nd overall pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft and signed him, forgoing his commitment to Tennessee.

He made his MLB Debut on Sept. 1, 2020 and makes this his fifth season that he's spent the entirety of it at the MLB level.

Hayes has slashed .254/.307/.369 for an OPS of .676 in his six seasons and 575 games with the Pirates, with 553 hits, 101 doubles, 16 triples, 39 home runs, 212 RBIs and 157 walks to 480 strikeouts.

He also has a team-friendly contract, signing an eight-year, $70 million contract extension on April 7, 2022, making $7 million from 2025-27, $8 million in both 2028 and 2029 and a $12 million club option in 2030.

The Pirates have made one trade this month, as they sent veteran utilityman Adam Frazier to the Kansas City Royals for Triple-A shortstop Cam Devanney on July 16.