Ke’Bryan Hayes giving Reds what they desperately needed despite brutal bat concerns

If there's one player on the Cincinnati Reds roster who's taken the most heat for the team's early-season offensive woes, it's Ke'Bryan Hayes. The criticism is certainly warranted. Hayes is hitting a meager .088 with just three hits on the young season and a -27 wRC+.

The Reds knew what they were getting in Hayes. He's an elite defender whose bat has been defunct for years. But Cincinnati's front office decided that his glove was worth the sacrifice. Since joining the Reds in July of 2025, Hayes is hitting just .208/.288/.297 with a 63 wRC+.

Ke'Bryan Hayes fixed the Reds defense, but his bat is cause for concern

After coming over from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Hayes' defense has been nearly flawless. He's been worth 5 defensive runs saved (DRS) and 9 outs above average (OAA). Since his debut in 2020 through his final full season with the Pirates (2024), Hayes was worth 76 DRS and 58 OAA.

During that same timeframe, Reds' third baseman posted a pathetic -47 DRS and -33 OAA. The only position on the Reds roster that graded out even worse was center field — one where Nick Senzel (a converted infielder) was playing routinely.

Some of Hayes' underlying metrics suggest that he made some adjustments in several key areas during the offseason. Hayes' average exit velocity is up over 2 mph from last season, and he ranks just outside the top-20% in MLB according to Baseball Savant.

After years of pounding the ball into the dirt, he's also seen a dramatic increase in his fly-ball rate (58.1%). To put that in context, some of the biggest hitters in all of Major League Baseball — Byron Buxton, Kyle Schwarber, José Ramirez, and Mike Trout — all have a FB% north of 60%. The difference, of course, is that Hayes' barrel rate (3.6%) is among the bottom-25% in MLB, so his fly balls turn into lifeless pop ups rather than doubles.

While it's true that the Reds can't continue to slot Hayes into the starting lineup if his bat is an automatic out every single at-bat, fans have already seen what happens when Eugenio Suárez sets up shop at the hot corner.

Suárez has played just 23 innings at third base this season and his defense has been questionable (-1 DRS). Geno was never a great defender during his time in Cincinnati, but if his bat is engaged, the Reds will live with the results of his somewhat problematic defense.

The Reds don't need Hayes to be a Silver Slugger, but he has to pose some type of threat to the opposing pitcher on the mound. Fans should be patient with Hayes, as it can take time for adjustments to yield results. But if we're still having these discussions once the calendar flips to May, Terry Francona might have consider an alternative solution.