Recent update on Ke'Bryan Hayes gives Pirates fans much-needed optimism

Spring training is finally upon us, which can only mean one thing—it's "best shape of his life" season. In the case of Ke'Bryan Hayes, while he might not be in the best shape he's ever been in, he made it abundantly clear that he feels better than he has in quite some time.

Hayes' career got off to such a strong start (he received Rookie of the Year votes in 2020 despite playing in just 24 of 60 games and played at a near-six-WAR pace through his first two seasons) that he was rewarded with, at the time, the richest contract in Pirates history. The notoriously parsimonious franchise committed $70 million to their third baseman through 2029, with a club option for 2030.

Hayes has shown most of the same traits throughout his career—he consistently posts above-average exit velocities but struggles to pull the ball in the air, putting a cap on his offensive ceiling. He pairs that, however, with elite defense at third base. His 75 defensive runs saved since 2020 trail only Daulton Varsho, and there's a sizeable gap separating Hayes from third-place Andrés Giménez.

There's one more consistent facet to Hayes' game—back troubles. He's endured seven stints on the injured list since the start of the 2021 season. Both IL placements in 2021 were due to a wrist injury, but every other injury since then has been related to his back. The 2024 season, by Hayes' own admission, was by far the worst for him in terms of managing his back pain, and his production on the field reflected that.

Grading out as a slightly above-average hitter and perennial Gold Glove-caliber defender from 2020-2023, Hayes looked far worse on both sides of the ball in 2024. He slashed a dreadful .233/.283/.290 and posted an unthinkably bad .491 OPS against right-handed pitching. He was worth 10 defensive runs saved in 96 games at the hot corner, which, while still an excellent total, lagged far behind his previous defensive output.

Ke'Bryan Hayes feels poised to finally help the Pirates make a push in 2025

Despite the full-roster report date being Monday, many position players chose to head to Bradenton early, and Hayes was among those players. The health update he provided became quite the story—in addition to a local piece done by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, both MLB and ESPN published pieces about Hayes' offseason as well. The national baseball scene is preparing for a new and improved Ke'Bryan Hayes.

There were multiple new pieces of information throughout those articles that shed some light on what Hayes did differently this winter and whether or not his back will be able to hold up in the future.

Firstly, Hayes went to the top of the food chain to get to the root of his discomfort. After it had been established in September that his season was over, he visited world-renowned spine surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins, who is based in Los Angeles and has done work for several major sports teams in LA and nationwide.

While Hayes did not go under the knife, he did undertake a new conditioning program to rebuild strength and endurance in his core and back. As a result, he is already working out and lifting weights the way he used to before his back troubles surfaced.

Hayes is also introducing adjustments in his swing, implementing a two-hand follow-through that he hasn't used since before his pro career began. While this is expected to ease the pressure on his back as he rotates through his swing, there's a statistical component to this, too. Hayes mentioned that swinging with two hands should prevent him from chasing certain pitches. This has been an issue throughout his career, and especially last season:

A healthy Hayes would be a greater boost to the Pirates than perhaps any plausible offseason acquisition could have been. If he can regain his form from the second half of 2023 (his back wasn't 100% then, either, and he missed most of July, but that's the level of pain management he aspires to achieve), we're looking at a special player.

From May 31 through the end of the 2023 season, Hayes slashed .308/.335/.532. That .868 OPS would have slotted between Corey Seager and Rafael Devers on the 2024 leaderboard. He also posted his second consecutive season with more than 20 defensive runs saved and took home his first career Gold Glove Award. He was a four-win player in 2023, according to Baseball-Reference, despite missing a month and ending May with an OPS hovering just over .600.

For whatever reason, the Pirates didn't do much this winter, and their biggest addition apparently comes with his own chronic injury concerns. This puts even more emphasis on Ben Cherington's new favorite phrase, "internal improvement." Hayes has proven before that, if he hits at just a league-average level, he can be an impact player thanks to his defense. Getting that version of Hayes back would go a long way towards helping the Pirates contend in 2025 and beyond.