The Pittsburgh Pirates shocked the fanbase and sent Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Many fans had seen enough of Ben Cherington's first extended player during his tenure in Pittsburgh and he pulled through with a deal to part ways. The return was very interesting too, as the Bucs landed the Reds' ninth-ranked prospect (per MLB Pipeline) and a left-hander being paid more money this year than Hayes himself.
Pittsburgh received Taylor Rogers in this trade, coming at a major surprise. Rogers is a rental and has a $12 million salary for 2025. The likely reasoning behind this trade was the Reds needed to unload payroll to add Hayes and other acquisitions, so Pittsburgh decided to take his contract on to get Hayes off their books.