For the second year in a row, the Pirates made a long-term extension offer to Ke’Bryan Hayes, and for the second year in a row, nothing will come from it.
Per a source to DK Pittsburgh Sports, while the Pirates and Hayes’ camp had discussions for a long-term contract back in February, there is “no traction” for a deal right now.
Insider Jon Heyman reported Wednesday that the Pirates did make an offer, which was rejected. Terms of that offer are not known.
Hayes’ 2021 contract is taken care of, and while March tends to be a busy time of year for extensions league wide, Ben Cherington suggested recently that the Pirates might be done with those talks for now.
“We got all our 0-3 [years of service time] guys done, and we’re focused on getting ready for the season,” Cherington said on March 12.
Those early discussions between the club and Hayes focused more on the direction of the team and how Hayes fit into those plans. The fact that there were numbers exchanged does suggest the two sides are on the same page in those regards, just not financial terms.
In terms of team control, Hayes is set to be a Pirate for a long time anyway. He has six years of team control remaining and is not on pace to become arbitration eligible until after the 2023 season.
However, an extension would make Hayes’ cost controlled, giving the Pirates and third baseman the security of knowing how much he will be paid each year. If he was to breakout and become an All-Star, that would provide a tremendous value for the Pirates. If he struggled, it could saddle them with a larger guaranteed contract on their books.
Hayes’ trajectory would strongly indicate the former of those two scenarios is more likely. Hayes slashed a remarkable .376/.442/.682 with five home runs and 11 RBIs over 24 games after being promoted Sept. 1. He is considered the preseason favorite to be the National League rookie of the year, and was recently ranked as the ninth-best prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
Hayes has picked up where he left off this spring, batting .432 with a 1.259 OPS entering play Wednesday.
The two sides could once again revisit a potential extension at some point, but for now, it looks like the Pirates want to see Hayes' perform in the majors for than a month before committing more than they have to.
