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Ke'Bryan Hayes

Pirates Made Extension Offer To Ke’Bryan Hayes

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The Pirates proposed a contract extension to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). It seems no deal is imminent, as Heyman writes that there’s “no traction” in talks between Pittsburgh and the Ballengee Group client.

It’s hardly surprising the Pirates would have interest in locking up Hayes long-term. The former first-rounder has been considered a top prospect for a while, but he arguably took his stock to new heights last season. Called up to the big leagues on September 1, Hayes went on an absolute tear to start his MLB career. He hit .376/.442/.682 with five home runs in his first 95 plate appearances. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference credited him with nearly two wins above replacement, an incredible amount of value to amass in less than a month of action.

No one should expect Hayes to sustain anything approaching that level of offensive output, but he only needs to be a decent hitter to be quite productive given the reports on his glove. Still rookie-eligible, Hayes enters 2021 as a consensus top 15 prospect in the league.

Hayes is controllable through 2026 and stands to make salaries around the league minimum for the next three years. Already 24 years old, he isn’t slated to hit free agency until after his age-29 season. The Pirates needn’t have any urgency in locking him up then, although it’s easy to see the appeal for the organization in initiating talks. Not only is there reason to be bullish on Hayes’ future, early-career extensions tend to carry plenty of upside for teams.

The specific offer the Pirates put on the table isn’t known. Extensions for players with less than one year of MLB service are rare but not unheard of. Looking at players in comparable situations over the past couple years, however, it’s difficult to find a prior agreement that perfectly maps with Hayes’ situation.

Luis Robert and Eloy Jiménez signed six-year extensions guaranteeing $50MM and $43MM, respectively, each including a pair of club options to buy out free agent years. Both the White Sox stars were more than a full year younger at the time of their deals than Hayes is now, though. Evan White and Brandon Lowe, meanwhile, signed extensions with guarantees around $24MM and multiple club options. Neither of those players was seen as the same caliber of prospect as Hayes at the time. A guarantee in between those general ranges that extends the Pirates’ team control window could make some sense, but obviously a player’s urgency to sacrifice earnings upside for upfront guarantees varies person-to-person.

Pirates Promote Ke’Bryan Hayes

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TODAY: The Pirates have officially called Hayes up, and also promoted recent waiver claim Anthony Alford to the active roster.  Southpaw Brandon Waddell and outfielder Jason Martin were optioned to the club’s alternate training site in corresponding moves.

AUGUST 31: The Pirates will promote top third base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes before their game against the Cubs on Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Hayes’ promotion was slowed thanks in part to a positive coronavirus test in July.

Now 23 years old, Hayes was a 2015 first-round pick (No. 32) who has established himself as a high-end major league prospect since the Pirates drafted him. In fact, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (No. 26), FanGraphs (30), MLB.com (45), Keith Law of The Athletic (46) and Baseball America (59) recently placed Hayes among the game’s 60 best farmhands. McDaniel wrote that Hayes, the son of ex-major leaguer Charlie Hayes, possesses “plus speed, a plus arm and a potential 70 glove,” and if he proves to be a capable offensive player in the majors, the package could make him a star.

So far, Hayes has not necessarily thrived against minor league pitching. He owns a .752 OPS in the minors, and in his most recent showing at the lower levels in 2019, he batted .265/.336/.415 (92 wRC+) with 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases across 480 Triple-A plate appearances. Still, his promotion makes for a rare bit of excitement in a Pittsburgh season that has largely been devoid of it.

The Pirates are a major league-worst 10-21 and have received below-average production from the third base tandem of Erik Gonzalez and JT Riddle, two players who probably won’t be part of the solution over the long haul. Hayes, on the other hand, has a chance to emerge as a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Because the Pirates are waiting until Sept. 1 to call him up, he’ll miss out on Super Two status and won’t be on track to reach free agency until after 2026.

Ke’Bryan Hayes Tests Positive For COVID-19

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Star prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes hasn’t participated in the Pirates’ camp, and manager Derek Shelton revealed today (with Hayes’ permission) that the 23-year-old has tested positive for the coronavirus.  Shelton told MLB.com’s Adam Berry and other reporters that Hayes was still in quarantine, though gave no hint as to when Hayes could be ready to participate.  Since Hayes never arrived at camp, it can be assumed that he tested positive during the initial round of intake tests.

Hayes is seen as both Pittsburgh’s top position player prospect and one of the more intriguing minor leaguers in the sport, featuring highly on top-100 prospect lists.  Prior to the 2020 season, Fangraphs was the most bullish on Hayes with a #30 ranking, while Baseball Prospectus’ 63rd-place ranking was the third baseman’s lowest showing.  Picked 32nd overall in the 2015 draft, Hayes has already drawn raves for his fielding ability at third base, while his bat has shown promise (.279/.354/.399 over 1991 minor league plate appearances) but was still something of a work in progress.

Hayes was seen as a lock to debut sometime in 2020, and presumably could still be in line for some playing time at the MLB level should he recover relatively soon.  Depending on how long Hayes is out and how long it would take him to prepare in a training camp scenario, however, the Pirates could decide to hold off on starting his service time clock until the 2021 season.  Beyond the contractual control logistics, the Bucs also naturally want to be as safe as possible with their star youngster, and bring him along in a way that doesn’t impede his development.

Pirates Place Keone Kela On Injured List

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The Pirates have placed reliever Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. The team’s unable to disclose the reason for his IL placement.

Kela hasn’t participated in Summer Camp, and it’s not known how much more time the right-hander will miss. If he does pitch this year, though, he should once again be one of the Pirates’ go-to late-game options.

Kela has quietly been among the game’s most effective relievers for most of his career, which began in Texas in 2015, having regularly run up high strikeout totals and impressive run prevention numbers. Last year, his first full season in Pittsburgh, was more of the same from a production standpoint. A shoulder injury and two suspensions limited Kela to just 29 2/3 innings, though he did post a 2.12 ERA/3.52 FIP with 10.01 K/9 and 3.34 BB/9 in that span.

The 27-year-old Kela isn’t the only notable Pirate who has been absent from camp. Outfielder Gregory Polanco has been out for an undisclosed reason since Monday. Meanwhile, standout third base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes hasn’t practiced at all. The Pirates haven’t provided details on his status.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Hayes, Moran, Royals, Hill, Lopez

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A few items from around the game…

  • The Pirates have one of baseball’s top prospects in third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who’s part of their 60-man player pool, but first-year manager Derek Shelton will ease him into a regular role slowly. Pittsburgh’s currently planning on sticking with Colin Moran at the hot corner, per Shelton, who said (via Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic): “I don’t think it’s an open competition. You’re going to see Colin there a lot. I think you’re going to see other people there … but you’re going to see Colin there.” The 27-year-old Moran, acquired from the Astros in the teams’ January 2018 Gerrit Cole trade, was the Pirates’ primary option at third during the previous two seasons. Moran only produced 0.8 fWAR in 968 plate appearances, in which he batted .277/.331/.419. Nevertheless, the Pirates believe it’s best for Hayes to continue his development as an understudy. The 23-year-old did reach Triple-A for the first time in 2019, but his .265/.336/.415 line across 480 PA was 8 percent below the International League average, according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric.
  • Multiple players’ positive coronavirus tests, including the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon and the Giants’ Hunter Bishop, have become public knowledge in recent days. Major League Baseball doesn’t want that to happen without consent from the player, though. In a statement issued Wednesday, the league said (via Marly Rivera of ESPN): “Because COVID-19 is not considered an employment-related injury, we will respect the privacy of the players who test positive or who are under evaluation, and we will defer to their wishes regarding public updates about their status. Without their voluntary permission, we will not disclose any COVID-19 related information.”
  • Royals pitchers Tim Hill and Jorge Lopez have health concerns that could have led them to opt out of the 2020 season, but both players plan to take the field this year, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com relays. Hill, a colon cancer survivor, told Flanagan: “I’m playing. I’m not opting out.” Of course, Hill noted he has be as careful as possible during the pandemic, and he’ll continue on that path. Lopez doesn’t have a preexisting condition of his own, meanwhile, but his young son lives with Familial Mediterranean Fever and Crohn’s disease. Hill informed Flanagan that Lopez will not opt out, though, calling Lopez “one incredible guy” for surviving the adversity he and his family have battled.

Pirates Option Cole Tucker, Six Others

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The Pirates have optioned seven players, the team announced on Twitter. They include relief pitchers Geoff Hartlieb, Sam Howard, Edgar Santana and Yacksel Rios, as well as outfielder Jason Martin and third base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes. But the most notable name in the bunch is shortstop Cole Tucker. The 23-year-old had been hitting well in spring training before the league-wide shutdown, putting up a slash line of .296/.387./.667, much better than his 2019 big league output of .211/.266/.361.

Tucker was a well-regarded prospect going into 2019, coming in at #83 on the FanGraphs Top 100 Prospects. He went on to have an up-and-down year, getting called up and making his big league debut on April 20 before being optioned and recalled twice more as the season wore on. He ended up getting into 56 games and producing a lackluster 61 wRC+ at the plate , but balancing that out with solid enough defense at short to break even in the WAR department with 0.0, according to FanGraphs. The numbers at Baseball Reference are slightly kinder, pegging him at 64 OPS+ and 0.2 WAR.

The shortstop position in Pittsburgh is currently occupied by Kevin Newman, who put together a very nice season in 2019, with a wRC+ of 110 and 2.4 fWAR. Erik Gonzalez should be slotted into the backup role, although JT Riddle could also play some shortstop in a pinch. It seems the team thinks the best path forward for Tucker is to get regular playing time in AAA and try to force his way into the picture. “We definitely believe in Cole as an every-day player”, said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. “He’s young enough where we think he should be playing every day still. Certainly see him contributing at the major league level really soon.”

Pirates Designate Four Players For Assignment, Set 40-Man Roster

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The Pirates set their roster in advance of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft tonight, selecting the contracts of right-handers Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce as well as infielders Ke’Bryan Hayes, Will Craig and Oneil Cruz. In a corresponding series of moves, the Pirates have designated lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar for assignment.

Of the four players designated for assignment, Agrazal had the largest workload with the Pirates in 2019, pitching 73 1/3 innings but struggling to a 4.91 ERA, 5.0 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 39.9 percent grounder rate. Each of the other three posted an ERA north of 7.00, though Escobar and Jerez each threw fewer than six innings. The 27-year-old DuRapau, meanwhile, enjoyed an outstanding season in Triple-A but allowed 18 runs in 17 1/3 innings at the MLB level.

Hayes, 23 in January, is fresh off a .265/.336/.415 season and against much older competition in Triple-A. Regarded as one of baseball’s premier defensive prospects, Hayes is considered to be among the top farmhands not just in the Pirates’ system but in the entire game.

Cruz, too, has generated some top 100 fanfare and just put the finishing touches on a huge but shortened season, hitting a combined .298/.356/.475 in 73 games. The towering 6’7″ Cruz, acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Tony Watson to the Dodgers, received 80 grades in arm strength and raw power from Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs on their midseason rankings, where he checked in at No. 34 in MLB.

Ponce, acquired from the Brewers in this summer’s Jordan Lyles swap, averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per inning out of the bullpen. Cederlind, also 23, had a solid year out of the ’pen and reached the Triple-A level for the first time. Craig had a down season in Triple-A but has long been considered to be among the top 15 prospects in the Pittsburgh farm and will give them some near-term corner infield depth.

Infield Notes: Odor, Padres, Hayes, Moncada

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Rangers general manager Jon Daniels suggested last week the club could reduce beleaguered second baseman Rougned Odor’s playing time. Manager Chris Woodward was even more aggressive Thursday in saying the Rangers need better from Odor, telling TR Sullivan of MLB.com that he’s “obviously got to show some improvement.” Otherwise, the Rangers will “have to make some decisions,” Woodward said, adding: “We are willing to withstand some lack of production, but this is the big leagues. I hate to say it, but you’ve got to be good to play every day, and he knows.” Woodward believes the rest of the season will be critical for Odor, who has turned in abysmal production for the second time since 2017. Prospect Nick Solak has been eating into Odor’s playing time of late as a result. Contrary to the inexpensive Solak, Odor’s causing a sizable dent in the Texas payroll. He’ll earn a guaranteed $36MM from 2020-22, including a $3MM buyout for ’23. Finances notwithstanding, Woodward will be reluctant to continue penciling Odor into the lineup if he continues putting up bottom-of-the-barrel numbers.

  • The Padres are anticipating a heated second base competition next spring between Luis Urias and Ty France, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Urias is the more hyped player of the duo, as he’s not far removed from a run as an elite prospect, but San Diego doesn’t want to simply hand him a starting job. The 22-year-old has recorded weak offensive totals since he debuted in the majors last season, having logged a .191/.302/.289 line through 202 trips to the plate, though Urias has been much more productive this month. He also laid waste to Triple-A pitching earlier this season. France, 25, has been even better this season at that level, where he has performed like one of the premier hitters in the minors with a jaw-dropping .399/.477/.770 line and 27 home runs over 348 PA. However, like Urias, France hasn’t done much at the big league level to this point.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington is seemingly leaving the door open for the club to promote one of its top prospects, third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, when rosters expand this Sunday. The 22-year-old hasn’t thrived overall this season in his first action at Triple-A, where he has batted .266/.334/.420 in 459 plate appearances, but he has caught fire since a slow start. Asked if the defensively adept Hayes’ recent success with the bat could lead to his first major league call-up, Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (subscription required), “It could in theory.” However, as you’d expect, Huntington went on to indicate the Pirates don’t want to rush him to the game’s highest level. With that in mind, Pittsburgh “probably” won’t summon Hayes to the majors this year, Biertempfel writes.
  • White Sox star Yoan Moncada has already changed positions once during his short career. After playing second base from 2017-18, he has lined up at third for the entirety of this season. While Moncada told Scott Merkin of MLB.com he expects to continue at the hot corner “for a very, very long time,” he’d be willing to move elsewhere if it helps the team. That’s unlikely to happen, per Merkin, though he notes the White Sox could do a 180 if they’re able to land, say, third baseman Anthony Rendon in free agency. In that case, Moncada could shift back to second or even the outfield – two areas that have been weak points for Chicago in 2019.

Pirates, First-Rounder Ke’Bryan Hayes Agree To Terms

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The Pirates and No. 32 overall selection Ke’Bryan Hayes have agreed to terms, Howard Chen of My FOX Houston reports (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (also via Twitter) that Hayes will receive the full slot value of $1,855,000.

Hayes, a high school third baseman, will forgo his commitment to Tennessee in order to try to follow in the footsteps of his father, Charlie, who spent parts of 14 seasons playing in the Majors (including one season with the Pirates). Heading into the draft, the younger Hayes was most aggressively ranked by Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs and Keith Law of ESPN, both of whom placed him 24th among 2015 draft prospects. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Hayes 44th on their Top 200 list, and Hayes placed 57th on Baseball America’s Top 500.

McDaniel notes that Hayes enjoyed a big spring and could develop into an everyday third baseman based on his promising tools, the strongest of which is a 65-grade arm (on the 20-80 scale). McDaniel projects average-or-better ratings across the board for Hayes’ tools, with the exception of speed. Law calls Hayes a “premium defender at third base with an outstanding approach and swing.” He adds that Hayes has an atypically high floor for a high school hitter. MLB.com notes that he lacks some first-step quickness and speed on the bases. BA notes that while he worked himself into great shape and a legitimate third base prospect, he’ll have to be careful with his conditioning to avoid moving to first base, where his bat wouldn’t play as well. BA lauds Hayes’ “excellent” work ethic and great feel for the game, adding that he’s one of the safest prep bats in this year’s class.

Chen spoke to both father and son about the draft and what it means to the pair. “Whenever I got that phone call, a burden just flew off my chest,” Ke’Bryan told Chen. “…The Pirates are a good baseball club and history shows it. Just to be able to wear the same major league ballclub team that my dad wore is really special and hopefully, I can get up there to the major leagues.”

With this agreement, the Bucs have both of their top picks locked in. Fellow first-rounder Kevin Newman officially signed yesterday, and a team announcement regarding Hayes — who was selected with the compensation pick awarded to Pittsburgh after losing Russell Martin to free agency — should follow in the near future.

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