Ke’Bryan Hayes put the Reds in the upside down in his unpredictable Reds debut

The Cincinnati Reds acquired third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes from the Pirates at the MLB trade deadline for one reason: His glove. The 28-year-old hasn't stuck in the majors since 2020 because of hit bat, that's for sure. This year, he's slashing .235/.279/.290. Yeah, and that's not much of an outlier for him offensively. But that's okay, because his defense is what matters. Right?...Right?

Welp, so much for defense. Hayes' first noteworthy contribution for the Reds was an error. The last time Hayes committed an error? June 27. He picked up his fifth of the season when a relatively routine grounder trickled by him in the top of the sixth, allowing the Braves to tie the game with two runs. Cincinnati collapsed from there. Atlanta lit up the Reds bullpen with eight runs in the top of the eighth.

Ke'Bryan Hayes' flipped his tough Reds debut on its head

Hilariously, Hayes' second noteworthy contribution was a home run. In the bottom of the eight, he took Dane Dunning deep, scoring three runs. The last time Hayes hit a home run? June 10. The last time Hayes accounted for three runs? Apr. 14.

Hey, Hayes hoped his move to Reds could give him a fresh start offensively. He got it. It just came at the expense of an error, apparently. Just as his error was the portent of bad things to come for Cincinnati, his home run was a sign of good things to come: The Reds continued the inning by tying the game at 11. It helps when you're facing one of the worst bullpens in the league.

It was a down-and-up debut for Hayes. An error and home run in his first game sets the stage for what should be an interesting stay in Cincinnati. It's safe to say fans shouldn't expect errors or home runs to be a regular feature of Hayes' game, for better or worse.