Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes Makes Admission About ‘Chronic’ Back Issue

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes entered spring training with good news and bad news.

Let’s start with the good. Hayes told reporters Wednesday that “everything feels a lot better” after back issues limited him to just 96 games last season.

The bad news? Hayes still isn’t feeling 100% and doesn’t know if he’ll ever get to that point for the rest of his career.

“The (back) injury that I have, it’s chronic,” Hayes told reporters, per MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf. “It’s not something that’s ever going to go away. It’s just, how good can I manage it to where my symptoms are almost nonexistent? That’s the challenge I have. This offseason, I dedicated it toward anything I can do as far as recovery stuff, diet, all that. That’s something I’m going to continue to hit on the head with a nail every day, just to be out there.”

That’s not exactly inspiring confidence that Hayes can make it through a 162-game season. But it wasn’t too long ago that the 28-year-old was an impact player for the Pirates as Hayes won a Gold Glove in 2023.

And if he can battle through the back ailment to find that form again, the Pirates know they’ll have an all-around difference-maker they can rely on.

“Put the defense and the offense and the baserunning together, add it all up, he’s very clearly one of the most valuable third basemen in the game in ’22 and ’23, and last year was a grind for him,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters, per Stumpf. “If we’re getting something closer to ’22 and ’23, that’s going to make a big impact on the team.”