Insane Reds stat makes Ke'Bryan Hayes' terrible play impossible to ignore

When fans look at the missteps that brought the Cincinnati Reds to this point in 2026, one of the more glaring gaffes was the 2025 deadline deal that brought Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Queen City. There was logic to wanting to upgrade the defense, and Hayes is one of the very best defenders in the game, regardless of position.

Still, it was a move that was tough to square for a variety of reasons. At the time of the deal, Hayes had a meager 56 wRC+. You can accept subpar offensive performance for elite defense, but only up to a point. On top of that, he came to the Reds with a history of back issues that not only threatened his availability but also his best asset, his glove.

Then, of course, there's the money. While not an enormous amount, it's sufficient enough to tie up Cincinnati's books. The perfect storm of injury, poor offensive performance, and a defensive drop-off could come together to make his value sink like a rock. That hasn't completely happened. Hayes has still been a superb fielder, but he has missed significant time due to injury, and his bat has reached an embarrassing new low.

Hayes is slashing just .146/.203/.236, good for a 19 wRC+. Whereas the National League has enjoyed the designated hitter for years now, it feels as if the Reds are playing by the old rules and essentially getting the same impact as if they let their pitchers hit every time he's in the lineup.

But the most damning part is the fact that Hayes eight RBI over the course of 84 games is the same total as what Juan Brito has put forth in his nine games in a Reds uniform. Brito has been something of a late-season phenom since getting called up when rosters expanded, but it's important to remember that he was a waiver claim a month ago and not a guy whose owed $29 million over the next three seasons.

This season needs to be Ke'Bryan Hayes' last in a Reds uniform

This isn't about Brito, though the infielder could force his way into the Reds' 2027 plans in some capacity. He's not going to continue posting a 172 wRC+, but you can't just write him off since he was a waiver-wire pickup. The 25-year-old was Cleveland's No. 7 overall prospect back in 2024, so there's still some potential that could be untapped.

Instead, this is about Hayes and the value of a roster spot. See, glove-first players typically need to provide some sort of secondary benefit to justify staying on the roster. It could be speed, positional versatility, a knack for situational hitting, or something.

If a player literally has no value beyond his defense, his bat has to be at least approaching league average to justify keeping him around.

Unfortunately, Hayes does none of those things. Outside of five innings back in 2022 at shortstop, Hayes has only ever manned the hot corner in the MLB. The days of him being a threat to steal 20 bases, something he also accomplished in 2022, are gone, and he possesses just 36th-percentile sprint speed. For his career, the 29-year-old has just a .663 OPS with runners in scoring position and a .652 mark in high-leverage situations.

Defense alone isn't enough to cover all those deficiencies, especially when his injury issues make it likely that the Reds will have to cover third base with an inferior defender for large swaths of the season.

Simply put, the roster spot is worth more than anything Hayes can provide. As painful as it may be, Cincinnati must cut him loose this offseason. The Reds will end up taking a hit of about $7 million per season through 2030 to do so, but it has to happen.

The trade was a mistake, but continuing to employ Hayes is throwing good money after bad. A waiver claim outproducing his entire season in just nine games has to be the final straw.

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