Pirates say they won’t rush Hayes’ return
The buzzword for Ke’Bryan Hayes’ recovery right now is caution.
The Pirates have emphasized caution since Hayes went down with a left wrist injury in the second game of the season against the Chicago Cubs, saying time and again that the main goal is ensuring he is fully healed before bringing him back.
That has resulted in a bit of a slower progression than was originally expected. What began as a day- to- day injury progressed to a stint on the 10day injured list and a longer pause from any baseball activities than what had been anticipated.
Prior to Wednesday, the third baseman had only begun to field ground balls. Now, Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said the 24-yearold has made his way back into the batting cage, hitting soft toss and swinging a bat for the first time since his injury. He faced soft toss from a coach Tuesday, felt healthy and did it all again Wednesday.
Tomczyk was not willing to give a firm deadline for Hayes’ eventual return, only saying that he wouldn’t be ready for activation during the current series against the San Diego Padres, but that does not necessarily forecast the rookie’s fate for the team’s three-city road trip that begins Friday.
“We just don’t want to make a very reactive decision based on the great progress that he’s made because we want to make sure that Ke’Bryan has the confidence,” Tomczyk said Wednesday. “We want to make sure that he is Ke’Bryan before he returns on that field. I know all the fans want to see Ke’Bryan back out there, too. But definitely, most importantly, Ke’Bryan is making the right, necessary steps and strides to return to play sooner than later.”
What Tomczyk means by making sure that “he is Ke’Bryan” is more of the mental side of things. The injury hasn’t sapped Hayes of his baseball abilities, but Tomczyk said that injuries like this require players to regain confidence that their body will hold up as they go through their usual baseball motions.
That is something Hayes will have to feel for himself. Manager Derek Shelton has said during this injury that Hayes has been extremely transparent with the team about how he is feeling. The confidence portion of that might require the same thing.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into it: One, a medical team, a physician team to say, ‘All right, Ke’Bryan, we feel you are ready for competition,’ ” Tomczyk said. “And then there’s another layer that we need final clearance from the manager. I know [Shelton] and his staff want him out there as soon as possible, but there are a lot of factors that do go into that, and it’s the long-term health and performance at the forefront here.”