Season over due to back pain, Hayes sets plan for '25

It was hardly a shocker by the time assistant general manager Kevan Graves announced on 93.7 The Fan Sunday afternoon that Ke'Bryan Hayes would not be able to return to game action in 2024, but that doesn’t make the blow much easier for the Pirates’ third baseman.

“Just very disappointing for me just because, one, just wanted to make the playoffs this year,” Hayes said at Great American Ball Park on Sunday. “And two, I just wanted to be out there. I wanted to be available every single day.”

Hayes has battled back issues the past couple of seasons, revealing at the end of the 2022 season that he had been playing with discomfort the entire season. He made two trips to the injured list in 2023 with low back inflammation, and then two more trips to the IL this year. Hayes was placed on the injured list on Aug. 19, and while there was optimism he would return before the end of this season last month, there were not enough days in the calendar for him to return.

“I wouldn’t say I was playing with it all year just because even whenever I’ve been able to stay on the field for quite some time, there have always been days where I feel OK and then there are days where I feel terrible,” Hayes said. “It’s just kind of the nature of the injury that I have.”

Hayes has been doing a rehab program in recent weeks and had begun playing catch and doing light baseball activities. He also says he expects to start lifting weights soon as part of a new rehab program that is a bit more “intense” than what he has done in previous offseasons, emphasizing more reps and building up his core to make sure he is in good cardiovascular shape.

Hayes made a trip to Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles to work out a plan, and the 27-year-old sounds optimistic about the direction they are taking and hopes to put these past few years behind him.

“I love playing baseball,” Hayes said. “This is what I’ve done my whole life. Just kind of what I’ve been going through the last couple years kind of has been tough, I’m not going to lie. But I know I’m going to be able to get on the other side of this. Going forward, the plan that we have [is to ensure] I’ll be good whenever we get back next year.”

Last year appeared to be a breakout campaign for Hayes, who won his first Gold Glove while finishing with a career-high 15 home runs and 61 RBIs. He excelled at the plate starting in June, hitting .307 with an .862 OPS over his final 71 games, giving hope that he could be a middle-of-the-order bat for this year’s team. That never came to fruition, as Hayes hit just .233 with four home runs, 25 RBIs and a .573 OPS across 96 games.

Hayes is three years into an eight-year extension he signed on Opening Day in 2022, a deal that was set to make him a cornerstone for a rebuilding franchise. The Pirates have the core of a potential playoff team in place, especially on the pitching side, so they will need to count on Hayes to again provide elite defense at third base, contribute offensively like he did in 2023 and, perhaps most importantly, stay healthy for what’s going to be a pivotal year for him and the franchise.

“He’s been extremely diligent with his program,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He looks good, he’s moving better, which is really important, so we need him to go into the offseason healthy with the back so he can work on the things he needs to work on.

“Obviously disappointed we won’t get him back on the field because he’s a big part of what we’re doing, but I think when we’ve seen him healthy over the course of the last couple of years, it’s been really good. We just need to make sure he’s healthy.”