Hayes' new regimen paying off: 'The best I've felt in a while'
Alex Stumpf
@AlexJStumpfBRADENTON, Fla. -- As Pirates manager Derek Shelton watched Ke'Bryan Hayes take batting practice Wednesday at Pirate City, one thing stood out in particular.
Hayes¡¯ swing looked unrestricted.
¡°It looks free,¡± Shelton said after the first workout of spring camp. ¡°When you're free and easy because you can rotate, it's going to provide really productive impact on the ball."
Hayes looks a little different this time in camp. He now finishes his swing with two hands. The ground balls he took Wednesday looked more like his Gold Glove Award-winning self. And perhaps most important, he was wearing a smile in the Pirates¡¯ clubhouse.
Feeling better after a good offseason workout plan surely is a big reason why Hayes was beaming.
¡°Everything feels a lot better,¡± Hayes said. ¡°It¡¯s the best I¡¯ve felt in a while as far as moving around and running.¡±
Hayes¡¯ lower back might not be 100% -- it probably never will be, he admits -- but it¡¯s a whole lot better than last year, when he made a pair of trips to the injured list and missed the final month and a half of the season. Even in the 96 games Hayes played, he was far from 100%. His Gold Glove defense regressed to being just good, and his OPS dropped from .762 in 2023 to .573.
That facilitated change. Hayes got a nutritionist. He didn¡¯t do much outside of working out and spending time with his family. Under the advice of Dr. Robert Watkins, Hayes reevaluated how many reps he should do of each exercise to help prepare for the season. He felt he was on the right track with a lot of the exercises, but now that could put him in a position to recover better over the course of the season.
That¡¯s why Hayes adopted a two-handed swing, too. It should limit the torque he¡¯s putting on his side and help him not overswing on whiffs against chase pitches.
¡°The [back] injury that I have, it¡¯s chronic,¡± Hayes said. ¡°It¡¯s not something that¡¯s ever going to go away. It¡¯s just, how good can I manage it to where my symptoms are almost nonexistent? That¡¯s the challenge I have. This offseason, I dedicated it toward anything I can do as far as recovery stuff, diet, all that. That¡¯s something I¡¯m going to continue to hit on the head with a nail every day, just to be out there.¡±
It¡¯s hard to oversell what a healthy Hayes brings to this Pirates team. He appeared to have a breakout offensive campaign in the second half of 2023, playing a part in Pittsburgh¡¯s strong finish. Without Hayes, the Bucs faltered for most of August and September in '24, and they fell out of playoff contention. The team¡¯s problems last year weren¡¯t just because it was without one player. But Hayes has one of the highest ceilings of all the position players on the roster.
¡°You can look at it on paper, look at it in other ways,¡± general manager Ben Cherington said. ¡°In '22 and '23, [Hayes] was very clearly in our eyes one of the most valuable third basemen in the game. All in. Put the defense and the offense and the baserunning together, add it all up, he's very clearly one of the most valuable third basemen in the game in '22 and '23, and last year was a grind for him.
¡°If we're getting something closer to '22 and '23, that's going to make a big impact on the team."
The numbers back Cherington up. Going by Baseball Reference¡¯s Wins Above Average (which measures value against a league-average player with equal playing time rather than a replacement-level player), Hayes was worth 4.9 WAA in 2022-23. That was sixth among Major League third basemen, sandwiched between Alex Bregman (5.1) and Matt Chapman (4). If Hayes can feel as good as he did in ¡®23, it stands to reason that he can match their All-Star-level production again.
The Pirates need another impact hitter, especially with the news Wednesday that their big trade acquisition this offseason, Spencer Horwitz, will miss at least a good chunk of Spring Training after undergoing right wrist surgery. Hayes is plenty motivated regardless.
¡°For my peace of mind, I¡¯ve just got to figure out how to stay on that field, because it ain¡¯t fun being on the IL,¡± Hayes said.