The Pittsburgh Pirates made a major move before MLB’s trade deadline on Wednesday, parting ways with a player once considered a franchise cornerstone by dealing Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and cash considerations to the Cincinnati Reds.
In return, the Pirates will receive left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers and minor league shortstop Sammy Stafura while freeing up future payroll. Hayes, 28, is set to be paid $7 million per year in 2026-27, $8 million in 2028-29 and has a club option for $12 million in 2030. Rogers is in the final year of a three-year, $33 million contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants, who are picking up half of his $12 million salary this season.
The Pirates made a record investment when they signed Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract in April 2022, but injuries hampered him in the following seasons as he missed two months with a hand/wrist injury in 2022 and spent time on the injured list with a bothersome back each of the next two years.
Hayes won the National League Gold Glove Award in 2023, when he batted .271 with a .762 OPS, tied for the team lead with 31 doubles, seven triples and a career-best 15 home runs and 61 RBIs and was voted team MVP by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
While Hayes leads all major league third basemen with 16 defensive runs saved and 15 outs above average this season, he has struggled offensively, batting .236/.279/.290 with 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 36 RBIs in 100 games. In 576 games over six seasons, Hayes batted .254/.307/.369 with 101 doubles, 39 homers and 212 RBIs.
In Rogers, the Pirates get a 6-foot-3, 190-pound lefty who has a 30-36 record, 3.28 ERA and 1.19 WHIP and has averaged 10.4 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings over a 10-year career with five teams. Rogers spent six seasons with the Minnesota Twins, where he was an All-Star in 2021, one each with the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers and two with the San Francisco Giants — where his twin brother, righty reliever Tyler, was playing before being dealt Wednesday to the New York Mets — before being traded ot the Reds in January. Rogers is 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.46 WHIP and 34 strikeouts against 19 walks in 33 innings over 40 appearances this season.
The 20-year-old Stafura, who was ranked the Reds’ No. 9 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, is a 6-foot, 188-pound shortstop who was a 2023 second-round pick (No. 43 overall). He batted .262/.393/.411 with 18 doubles, nine triples, four homers and 48 RBIs and 28 stolen bases in 88 games at Low-A Daytona.