PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pirates believe Ke'Bryan Hayes will have a normal off-season and be cleared of wrist issues to start 2022.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Tuesday Hayes saw a doctor in Ohio Monday. He will see another doctor when he arrives home in Texas. They will take all of that information into account and come up with a plan for his off-season workouts.
"Every piece of information we have right now leads us to be very optimistic about his recovery," Cherington said. "About this not being something that would get in the way of an off-season. Certainly not into Spring Training or next year. More importantly he feels very optimistic about next year."
Hayes limited to 96 games this season hitting .257 with 20 doubles, six home runs and 38 RBI. The rookie came up in September of 2020 and in 24 games hit .376 with five home runs and seven doubles with a .442 OBP.
"He had a wrist injury," Cherington said of his numbers. "It was a real wrist injury. It obviously cost him some time early in the year. It probably also was bothering him at different times during the year."
"He chose to play through it based on the guidance he got from medical experts that he was not going to do any further damage to it. He wanted to play. Respect him for that. Probably got in the way a little bit offensively, don't know that, but can speculate."
"Given all that, we are encouraged about his year. As we think about the growth of a young player, he continued to play his tail off defensively. Obviously, we all see that. He was going out there offensively probably without feeling his best all the time. Yet wanted to be out there with his teammates, wanted to play. Wanted to help the team win any way he could."
The Bucs 2015 first round pick is 24-years-old and isn't arbitration eligible for two more seasons and isn't a free agent until 2027.
"When the numbers look better, it will feel better for everyone," Cherington said. "Often players have to go through those hard times too. Respect Ke'Bryan for what he did this year. Obviously he's a huge part of what we are doing going forward."
