Pirates trade 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes to Reds, LHP Caleb Ferguson to Mariners ahead of deadline

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a major move Wednesday before MLB’s trade deadline, parting ways with a player once considered a franchise cornerstone by dealing Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and cash considerations to the Cincinnati Reds.

In return, the Pirates will receive left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers and minor league shortstop Sammy Stafura while freeing up future payroll. Hayes, 28, is set to be paid $7 million per year in 2026-27, $8 million in 2028-29 and has a club option for $12 million in 2030. Rogers is in the final year of a three-year, $33 million contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants, who are picking up half of his $12 million salary this season.

“I want to thank him for everything that he’s meant to the team and the city,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “Drafted by the Pirates, grew up in the organization. It’s always tough for a guy that this is the only organization that he’s known. He won a Gold Glove for us, grew as a person and a player. I want to thank him for everything and wish him the best going forward.”

The Pirates also dealt left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson to the Seattle Mariners for 19-year-old right-hander Jeter Martinez, per MLB.com.

The Pirates made a record investment when they signed Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract in April 2022, but injuries hampered him in the following seasons as he missed two months with a hand/wrist injury in 2022 and spent time on the injured list with a bothersome back each of the next two years.

Hayes won the National League Gold Glove Award in 2023, when he batted .271 with a .762 OPS, tied for the team lead with 31 doubles, seven triples and a career-best 15 home runs and 61 RBIs and was voted team MVP by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

“It was cool to see him grow, win the Gold Glove, go through the ups and downs, the back stuff he dealt with and finding a way this year to get on a program that allowed him to stay on the field,” Kelly said. “It’s one of the things in the business that you understand happens, especially at this time of the year with the trade deadline.”

While Hayes leads all major league third basemen with 16 defensive runs saved and 15 outs above average this season, he has struggled offensively, batting .236/.279/.290 with 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 36 RBIs in 100 games. In 576 games over six seasons, Hayes batted .254/.307/.369 with 101 doubles, 39 homers and 212 RBIs.

In Rogers, the Pirates get a 6-foot-3, 190-pound lefty who has a 30-36 record, 3.28 ERA and 1.19 WHIP and has averaged 10.4 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings over a 10-year career with five teams. Rogers spent six seasons with the Minnesota Twins, where he was an All-Star in 2021, one each with the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers and two with the San Francisco Giants — where his twin brother, righty reliever Tyler, was playing before being dealt Wednesday to the New York Mets — before being traded to the Reds in January. Rogers is 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.46 WHIP and 34 strikeouts against 19 walks in 33 innings over 40 appearances this season.

The 20-year-old Stafura, who was ranked the Reds’ No. 9 prospect by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, is a 6-foot, 188-pound shortstop who was a 2023 second-round pick (No. 43 overall). He batted .262/.393/.411 with 18 doubles, nine triples, four homers and 48 RBIs and 28 stolen bases in 88 games at Low-A Daytona.

Ferguson, 29, is on an expiring contract after signing a one-year, $3 million free-agent deal. He was 2-2 with a 3.74 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 34 strikeouts against 14 walks in 43¹⁄₃ innings over 45 appearances for the Pirates this season. Ferguson was seen exchanging hugs with teammates in the bullpen during the Pirates-Giants game.

“He was really an unsung hero on the team, as far as not a lot of fanfare and talk about him,” Kelly said. “But he was so consistent, so good for us. Meant a lot to us this year, how he went about it and the performance on the field.”

The 6-4, 180-pound Martinez, a native of Durango, Mexico, was a top-50 international prospect who signed for $600,000 in January 2023. He has a fastball that touches 99 mph, a slider and changeup but has battled control issues. Martinez was 2-6 with a 6.18 ERA and 1.61 WHIP with 60 strikeouts and 38 walks in 62²⁄₃ innings over 16 starts for Low-A Modesto this season. Martinez was ranked the Mariners’ No. 13 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 22 by Baseball America.