At a certain point, the Pittsburgh Pirates should be competitive to the point where we can finally discuss defense honestly.
One given is that Ke’Bryan Hayes is good. He is really good. Defensive metrics can be difficult to understand and it’s hard to determine which are best to go by, but Hayes is atop defensive leaderboards in all categories. Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) has him first among 3B with 19 DRS. Using Outs Above Average (OAA) he’s first again with 15 OAA.
On the opposite spectrum, 2021 is looking like an anomaly and Bryan Reynolds should be moved off CF sooner than later.