Building the best post-trade deadline lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Ke'Bryan Hayes, Third Base

One of the biggest disappointments to the Pirates this season has been Ke'Bryan Hayes. In the second half of 2023, Hayes went off, having a career year at the plate and winning the Gold Glove at third base. After a good start to the 2024 season, Hayes began to fall off, and a lingering back injury has kept him from playing to his best ability.

This season, Hayes has a batting average of .239 with three home runs and 23 runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .588, which includes an on-base percentage of .292 and a slugging percentage of .296. His wRC+ is far below average at 66, but his defense keeps his fWAR positive at 0.4.

Hayes does square balls up at a 31.5% rate, which is ranked in the 90th percentile, but the problem is, most of his squared-up balls are on the ground. If he can start hitting the ball more in the air, then he will break out at the plate. Line drives are where his success comes from, as we saw in 2023.

The Pirates need Hayes to heat up at the plate, and there is a lot of room for him to do so.

Michael A. Taylor, Center Field

Like Hayes, Michael A. Taylor has been very productive defensively, and that keeps him in the lineup. Adding De La Cruz helps Taylor stay in daily, as the team needs an everyday center fielder, but his offense at the plate has just not been good all season.

This season, Taylor has a poor OPS of .572, and that includes a .264 on-base percentage and a .308 slugging percentage. After hitting 21 homers in 2023, Taylor has only hit four with the Pirates and has driven in just 19 runs. His wRC+ is very poor at 59 and his strikeout rate is high at 34.1%.

There has not been much productivity out of the bat of Taylor, but if he taps into the 2023 power he displayed, then he could help round out this lineup.

When the Pirates get Gonzales back, this lineup will look better, with Kiner-Falefa getting the bulk of the time in center field and Gonzales returning to second base. For now, though, this is the best lineup the Pirates can run out there daily, post-deadline.