Ke'Bryan Hayes Leaves Pirates Game With Concerning Injury

Hours after a big extension, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes leaves Opening Day with a concerning injury.
Hours after a big extension, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes leaves Opening Day with a concerning injury. / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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Opening Day has been a roller coaster ride for young Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes. Just hours after signing a healthy eight-year, $70 million contract extension, the former top prospect left Thursday's game with a concerning injury.

Ke'Bryan Hayes Injury Update

Hayes' injury happened in just the bottom of the first inning, too. The talented youngster struck out in the top of the inning before heading out to play defense in the next frame.

Reports suggest this is a left wrist injury after trainers appeared to examine his hand/left wrist before pulling him from the contest.

Ke'Bryan Hayes Extension

It's an unfortunate turn of events for both Hayes and the Pirates. It's still unclear the exact nature of this injury, but the hope is this was merely an exercise of extreme caution.

Hayes' contract extension was seen as a big win and provides stability to a team stuck in rebuild mode. The third baseman is known for his strong defensive play but was able to slash .376/.442/.682 in a brief 24-game stint during the abbreviated 2020 season.

He followed this up with a strong 2021 campaign, hitting .257/.316/.373 with 38 RBIs in 96 games.

Hayes does have a bit of an injury history, though. The former top prospect missed two months with a left wrist injury in 2021. It's a bit of bad déjà vu for Pirates fans.

The Pirates still have a long road ahead of them in their current rebuild. Currently, Pittsburgh is just +50000 in FanDuel Sportsbook's odds to win the 2022 World Series.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.