Yankees' Potential Trade for $70 Million Gold Glover Gets Massive Update From Insider

Newsweek

2 days ago

Oswaldo Cabrera was the Yankees' primary third baseman before an ankle injury all but ended his season. The Yankees have deployed Oswald Peraza at third base and are preparing Jazz Chisholm Jr. to man the hot corner when he is ready to return.
With Chisholm expected to be the everyday third baseman, the Yankees are left with a question mark at second base. DJ LeMahieu and Jorbit Vivas have been playing at second base, with LeMahieu getting most of the action. After his four-hit game against the Dodgers, he is hitting .239, but he is clearly not the same player he once was at the plate.
Ideally, the Yankees would find an everyday player at third base and move Chisholm back to second base, where he is more comfortable and started the season. There are options available for the Yankees at third base on presumable sellers. One target for the Yankees could be Ke'Bryan Hayes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 2: Ke'Bryan Hayes #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates is thrown out at third base during the second inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field...
TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 2: Ke'Bryan Hayes #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates is thrown out at third base during the second inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on April 2, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. MoreUSA Today's Bob Nightengale recently revealed that Hayes, along with other Pirates players not named Paul Skenes or Oneil Cruz, are available.
"The Pittsburgh Pirates are flatly rebuking all interest from teams wanting to engage in trade talks for ace Paul Skenes, but will listen to offers on every other player but him and outfielder Oneil Cruz," wrote Nightengale. "Two intriguing players are third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes and outfielder Bryan Reynolds. They were each expected to become cornerstone pieces of the franchise and both have struggled, with the Pirates expected to put them on the market at the trade deadline. Reynolds is in the third year of an eight-year, $106.75 million deal, the largest in club history. Hayes is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $70 million extension."
Hayes would be a similar type of addition that Chisholm was last year. He was hitting .249 on a bad Miami Marlins team, but found new life in the Bronx. Hayes is hitting .224 on the Pirates, who have already fired their manager this year. His father, Charlie Hayes, was a World Series champion with the Yankees in 1996, and is reportedly displeased with the Pirates' development of his son.
"Ke'Bryan Hayes is a defensive magician at third base," Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay said on Jan. 15. "His hitting is not what it should be, but he's obviously not happy in Pittsburgh. I talked to Charlie when the Yankees were in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago, and he was like scratching his head about some of the things they do in Pittsburgh with the hitters. Whatever the case may be, if I'm the Yankees, I'm calling the Pirates and go, 'What do you want?'"
Hayes is a Gold Glover at third base, but the Yankees would be banking on him to improve at the plate after any trade. Nolan Arenado may not be available with how the St. Louis Cardinals are playing, but the Pirates are open for business and Hayes could be a fit at third base for years to come.
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