First Call: ESPN gives Pirates low grade for David Bednar trade; Ke'Bryan Hayes homers in wild 1st game with Reds
Friday’s “First Call” has a potential wide receiver target for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pirates aren’t getting rave reviews for the David Bednar trade. Ke’Bryan Hayes had a wild first game in Cincinnati.
And as the Pirates head to Colorado, the Rockies are every bit as bad as you think they are.
Just in case they are looking
If the Steelers want to improve their wide receiver position, a good one might be available.
Terry McLaurin has requested a trade from Washington. That news is coming from Fox’s Jordan Schultz.
BREAKING: #Commanders All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin has requested a trade, multiple sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/DQ33B2I6oi
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 31, 2025
McLaurin is a two-time Pro Bowler with five straight seasons over 1,000 receiving yards. The Ohio State product finished second in the NFL in touchdowns last year with 13.
The 29-year-old reportedly wants a new contract in the DK Metcalf range. That’s roughly $33 million per year from the Steelers.
McLaurin’s current cap hit is $25 million, with $15.5 of that in salary. The Steelers have $17.5 million of cap space, via OverTheCap.com.
More sports
• Steelers kicker Chris Boswell approaches season with no regard to his All-Pro 2024
• Ex-Steeler Max Starks talks about his radio promotion, Broderick Jones, Aaron Rodgers, and memories of Craig Wolfley
• Did Pirates take 'important step' with trade deadline deals or was it another salary dump?
Not so great review
From a Pirates perspective, ESPN.com’s Dave Schoenfield gave the club a C-minus for their trade of David Bednar to the New York Yankees. He called it a “light return,” given that Bednar had another year of team control and that other top relievers yielded more of a haul across Major League Baseball before Thursday’s trade deadline.
Agreed.
This was Schoenfield’s assessment of catcher Rafael Flores, fellow catcher Edgleen Perez and outfielder Brian Sanchez:
“Perez was the Yankees’ No. 10 prospect, but he’s light years from the majors, a 19-year-old hitting .209 with no home runs in low-A ball. He has drawn a lot of walks, but as you might surmise, defense is his calling card. Still, unless something drastic happens with the bat, it’s hard to envision him as anything more than backup. Flores is a more offensive-minded backstop, hitting .287/.346/.496 in Double-A with 15 home runs in 335 at-bats. The analytics department will like his max exit velocity numbers (115 mph), but he’s a fringy defender who might end up as a first baseman, where the bat might not play. Sanchez is a 20-year-old outfielder in low-A ball with some speed and not much power yet.”
Meanwhile, he gave the Yankees a B-plus for scoring Bednar.
‘Key’ing a rally
For much of the night, it appeared that Ke’Bryan Hayes would have an inauspicious debut as a Cincinnati Red.
First of all, Hayes still had to wear some of his Pirates gear because he couldn’t get a Cincinnati belt or cleats in time for his first game with his new team.
When you get traded at the deadline you don't always have time to get new gear ????
Just ask Ke'Bryan Hayes! pic.twitter.com/okzKAPGvRJ
— MLB (@MLB) July 31, 2025
The recently traded Pirate also made an error at third base and failed to get a hit in his first three at-bats as his team was trailing 11-3 in the eighth inning at home to the Atlanta Braves. But that’s when Hayes stroked a three-run homer to ignite what appeared to be an impossible comeback.
Ke'Bryan's first home run as a Red@KeBryanHayes pic.twitter.com/UibAuO0V7N
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 1, 2025
The Reds plated eight runs in the inning to tie the game after Atlanta put up an eight-spot in the top half of the inning. The Braves eventually won 12-11 in the 10th. Cincy is 3½ games behind San Diego for the last National League wild card slot.
Rotten Rockies
So exactly how bad are the Colorado Rockies?
Well, the Pirates (47-62) are about to get a good look. The two teams play each other for a three-game weekend series in Denver starting Friday night.
Colorado has the worst record in Major League Baseball at 28-80. Their run differential is minus-277, 160 runs worse than any other team in baseball. They are a hefty 31.5 games out of a wild-card spot.
The Rockies have scored 388 runs. Only the Pirates (369) have fewer. Colorado has allowed 665 runs. No one else in MLB has allowed more than 500.
Colorado has lost four of its last five, getting outscored 46-11 along the way. The club is on pace to finish 42-120. That would be one loss short of the modern record set last year by the Chicago White Sox.
That’s a team that just recently swept the Pirates coming out of the All-Star break, by the way.
So maybe we shouldn’t get too cocky.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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