The Pittsburgh Pirates made their second big splash of the trade deadline on Wednesday, shipping veteran 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for LHP Taylor Rogers and SS Sammy Stafura.
Rogers, 34, should immediately join the Pirates bullpen. He has a 2.45 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 33.0 innings this season. Stafura, 20, was Cincy's No. 8 prospect and immediately becomes one of the best infield prospects in Pittsburgh's system. He has an .804 OPS with four home runs and 48 RBI in 321 at-bats with Single-A Daytona.
Stafura is a few years away from his MLB debut, but the Pirates will hope to fast-track him and benefit from long-term production at a premium position. Pittsburgh's entire lineup needs to improve, frankly, but the middle infield has been a point of instability all season.
Pittsburgh recently dealt utilityman and frequent starting second baseman Adam Frazier to the Kansas City Royals. In a resulting move, 24-year-old shortstop Liover Peguero was called up and reinserted into the lineup. With Isiah Kiner-Falefa presumably moving to third in place of Hayes, Peguero's spot with the big-league club appears safe — for now.
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Sammy Stafura's Pirates arrival puts Liover Peguero on notice
Stafura has work to do at the plate, but he doesn't strike out an exorbitant amount and he's a major athlete. He stacked 27 stolen bases in 77 games last season, consistently applying pressure on the opposing pitcher. As MLB Pipeline lays out, Stafura's best traits are on defense.
"Stafura’s athleticism is an athlete on the dirt as well. He’s played nothing but shortstop thus far in his pro career and there are no plans to change that, and he has the range, hands, actions and arm to stick there long term. The Reds love his passion for the game and his work ethic and think he could make another big step now that he knows what it takes to manage a season-long workload."
That brings us to Peguero, 24, who started the 2025 campaign with an extended stint in Triple-A for the Pirates. Peguero is 5-for-19 in a small sample size at the MLB level this season, but his career OPS sits at .663 through 230 big-league at-bats. He's a subpar defensive shortstop in terms of range and he struggles immensely to hit right-handed pitching. Youth is still on Peguero's side, but the clock just started ticking with the trade for Stafura.
Pirates need Sammy Stafura to develop into productive MLB hitter
Pittsburgh fans can't complain too much about the haul here. Hayes is under contract for five more years at an average annual value of $8.8 million. He's also the best defensive third baseman in MLB. It's solid value for the Reds, even if Hayes' lack of production at the plate has become an ongoing storyline.
The Pirates were comfortable trading Hayes within the division, however, which tells us a lot about his perception in the organization as well as Pittsburgh's short-term competitive aspirations. It also means the team feels a certain type of way about Stafura.
Odds are the 20-year-old does not develop into the defensive savant that Hayes is, but if he can become a more workable big-league hitter in a few years, the Pirates will have something to feel good about. Pittsburgh's lackluster offense continues to undermine a strong pitching staff and a fervent fanbase. This was not the immediate solution most fans want, but as a long-term investment, transforming Hayes' hefty long-term salary commitment into a top-10 prospect with Stafura's all-around skill set is good business. Here's to hoping his future is not derailed by Pittsburgh's questionable track record of hitting development.