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Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Ke'Bryan Hayes has not been the player the front office hoped he would become. While he has been outstanding defensively, his struggles with the bat have hurt the club.
Through 86 games, he is hitting .239/.290/.294 with just three home runs and 23 runs batted in. His last home run came all the way back on June 18, which is hard to wrap your head around.
During the 2022 season, he signed an eight-year, $70 million deal, which is not looking too good for Pittsburgh. During a recent airing, Daily Shots of Pirates host Dejan Kovacevic was critical of his contract and how he has looked this season.
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"No one anywhere would want to pay even a fraction of this money to an all-glove, no-hit player at a power position on the field," said Kovacevic.
Kovacevic does not see any other team paying even close to what Pittsburgh is paying Hayes. If they did want to get out of his contract, they likely will not have too many interested parties unless Hayes does a 180.
"Benching him is not a solution. Having him become some sort of ultility third baseman isn't a solution. This is Pittsburgh. You can hide long-term mistake contracts in New York and Los Angeles, you can't do it in Pittsburgh," said Kovacevic.
This is becoming a problem that the team cannot ignore for much longer, especially if they want to fight for a postseason spot later in the year. They cannot afford to keep rolling Hayes out there if he continues to slump at the plate.
Pirates slugger Ke'Bryan Hayes has been hampered by back issues for several seasons now
Pirates slugger Ke'Bryan Hayes has batted back issues over the last few seasons. It was an issue that sent him to the IL earlier in the season and could be a reason for his struggles at the plate.
With the amount of twisting and turning hitters do, you need a healthy back to be at your best. Hayes has even mentioned to reporters this season that the pain affects him with the bat.
Pittsburgh must figure out what they want to do with him the rest of the way out. He has become a liability offensively and could really hurt the team's chances of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2015.
