Pirates Give Update on Ke'Bryan Hayes
PITTSBURGH —The Pittsburgh Pirates gave an update on their starting third baseman, Ke'Bryan Hayes.
Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that Hayes is back to "full baseball activities" and that they see him ready for game play in the near future.
Update on Ke'Bryan Hayes from Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk:
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) March 13, 2025
"He's back to full baseball activities. We envision him being available for game activity in the coming days as well."
Hayes hasn't played in a Spring Training game due to left side tightness since March 5, which doesn't have any bearing on the back issues.
Hayes struggled throughout the 2024 season with back issues, heading to the Injured List twice, including in mid-August, which kept him out the rest of the campaign.
His back made it difficult for him not just to stay on the field, but also hurt his production. He had a slash line of .233/.283/.290, nine doubles, four homers and 25 RBIs, all the worst numbers in his career so far.
Hayes went to Los Angeles and met with Dr. Robert Watkins IV, a renowned orthopedic spine surgeon, who created the Backdoor App, that allows Hayes to follow a structured program to work on his back issues.
He had a solid 2023 campaign, winning a National League Gold Glove for his defense and slashing 271/.309/.453 with 15 home runs, 61 RBIs, 31 doubles and seven triples.
Hayes signed an eight-year, $70 million contract extension on April 7, 2022, which represented the biggest contract in Pirates history at the time. This keeps him with the team through 2029, with a club option for the 2030 season.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton spoke before Spring Training started and has high hopes for Hayes this season.
“I think we’ve seen, when Ke’ is healthy, how he provides on both sides of the ball," Shelton said. "I’ve never shied away from thinking he’s one of, if not the best, defenders in baseball. And, offensively, when he’s been healthy, we’ve seen that he can produce. To see him in camp, to see the way his body looks, it’s really encouraging.”
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington also says that as long as Hayes stays healthy, he'll be one of the best third baseman in baseball.
“It’s big, you know, you can look at it on paper, you can look at it in other ways," Cherington said. "In ‘22 and ‘23, he was, clearly, in our eyes, one of the most valuable third basemen in the game.
"All in, put the defense and the offense and the baserunning together, add it all up, he’s very clearly one of the most valuable third basemen in the game in ’22 and ’23 and last year was a grind for him. If we’re getting something closer to ’22 and ’23, that’s going to make a big impact on the team.”
