Ben Cherington somehow even screwed up Pirates' return package for Ke'Bryan Hayes

The Pittsburgh Pirates were expected to be sellers at this year's trade deadline, but they shocked the baseball world on Wednesday with their first big move.

The Pirates shipped Gold Glove third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds – a National League Central division rival – for veteran reliever Taylor Rogers and Single-A shortstop prospect Sammy Safura. The fact Hayes was traded is hardly surprising, as his name had been coming up in rumors for, well, years. But the destination and the return were certainly head-scratchers.

Make no mistake – this is a salary dump for the Pirates, who will net $36 million in long-term savings after the 2025 campaign as a result of the trade with the Reds taking on the entirety of Hayes' contract. But general manager Ben Cherington absolutely could have – and should have gotten more in the return.

Ben Cherington somehow even screwed up Pirates' return package for Ke'Bryan Hayes

Hayes is one of the best defensive players not only at his position, but in all of baseball, with 16 defensive runs saved at third base this season. He won a Gold Glove Award in 2023, is on track to win a second this year, and has five years of team control remaining beyond this season. And all the Pirates could get for him was a prospect and a veteran reliever on an expiring contract?

Stafura, 20, was the ninth-ranked prospect in the Reds' system, according to MLB Pipeline. He was selected in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft and slashed .262/.393/.411 with an .804 OPS, four home runs and 48 RBI over 88 games this season with Single-A Daytona. He will presumably report to the Pirates' Single-A affiliate in Bradenton.

Rogers is 34 years old and a free agent at the end of the year. If the Pirates don't flip him, he will be expected to help their Major League bullpen right away after going 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA over 40 appearances for the Reds. He has struck out 34 batters and walked 19 over 33 innings this season. 

The addition of Rogers – assuming he isn't flipped immediately – immediately foreshadowed the departure of southpaw Caleb Ferguson, who joined the Pirates on a one-year free agent deal last offseason and was sent to the Mariners 25 hours ahead of the deadline. The acquisition of Stafura is more puzzling, though; why would the Pirates bring in another shortstop prospect when they already have the likes of Wyatt Sanford and Jack Brannigan – not to mention No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin – in their pipeline?

Hayes had to go. He is an elite defender but not a good fit on a Pirates team that is starved for offense. But Cherington has said that his primary goal at the trade deadline was to make this team better in 2026, and neither Stafura nor Rogers is going to do that.

The Pirates' greatest gain in this trade is long-term financial flexibility, but that's only valuable if they use it wisely (i.e., to bring in some legitimate, big league bats). Cherington's managerial ineptitude over the last six years shouldn't give Pirates fans any reason to believe that will happen.

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