Ke'Bryan Hayes takes parting shot at Pirates the second he arrived to Reds via trade

Ten years after they selected him with the No. 32 overall pick the 2015 MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates shipped third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

Hayes slashed .254/.307/.369 (for an OPS of .676) in his six seasons and 576 games with the Pirates. He won a Gold Glove at third base in 2023, and he's on track to win another in 2025. He signed an eight-year, $70 million contract extension in 2022, the largest contract in franchise history at the time it was signed, but he never took off offensively in Pittsburgh. Now, he will get another opportunity with a National League Central division rival.

Hayes posted a message on his X account Thursday morning thanking the Pirates organization, including his teammates and coaches, as well as the fans in Pittsburgh for their support over the last decade. He concluded the note by saying that he wishes the Pirates "nothing but the best and continued success in the future."

By that afternoon, Hayes was dressed head to toe in Reds gear and sitting at the podium in front of a room full of reporters for his introductory press conference in Cincinnati. When speaking on his new opportunity with the Reds, he seemed to take a not-so-subtle – yet fully deserved – dig at the organization that drafted him.

“I’m excited for a new chapter," Hayes told reporters, including Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. “That’s why we play this game, to play in the playoffs and ultimately win a World Series. If you’re not playing to win, why are you playing?"

It may have been presented as a rhetorical question, but Hayes' remark highlights an important detail about what's going on in Pittsburgh. The Pirates aren't a losing franchise because the players don't want to win; they are a losing franchise because their front office and ownership don't prioritize winning.

Ke'Bryan Hayes' parting shot at Pirates highlights ineptitude of Pittsburgh's front office

Hayes has spent his entire career up to this point with the Pirates and has therefore never appeared in a Major League postseason game. Pittsburgh is in last place in the division (again), while the Reds are in third place and in the thick of the NL Wild Card race.

In Cincinnati, Hayes will get an opportunity to play meaningful baseball. Even if the Reds don't make the playoffs this year, it's at least evident that they are trying – something the Pirates' front office hasn't done in six years under general manager Ben Cherington.

Cherington's stated goal ahead of the deadline was to improve the Pirates in 2026. Not a single one of the moves he made accomplished that goal. It's been six years, and the Pirates are still trading for low-level prospects, indicating that they are no closer to contending now than they were when Cherington took over as GM in 2020.

Of course, it's not all on Cherington. Principal owner Bob Nutting deserves plenty of blame here, too. Just look at this year's deadline moves alone; the Pirates dumped Hayes, Caleb Ferguson, Taylor Rogers, David Bednar and Bailey Falter to save $4.8 million for the remainder of this season, avoid paying $36 million for Hayes for the next four years and avoid arbitration with Falter and Bednar.

That – not winning – is what dictates success for this front office and ownership group.

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