This former Pittsburgh Pirates player is playing a whole lot better with his new team.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates signed third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract extension in April 2022, it was an obvious gamble.

Hayes was a former top prospect, yes, and he had a brilliant — albeit brief — debut in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, but he managed just a .689 OPS in 2021. Clearly, the Pirates were only banking on his potential.

Well, fast forward to 2025, and the contract, which was the richest deal in franchise history, ended up being an abject disaster, resulting in Pittsburgh trading Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds at the July deadline. Surprisingly, the Reds took on the remainder of his contract in spite of the fact that Hayes was slashing just .236/.279/.290 at the time.

But guess what? Hayes is now playing some of the best baseball of his career.

Since joining Cincinnati, the 28-year-old looks completely rejuvenated and entered action on Friday night slashing .282/.356/.427 in 37 games with the Reds. His .783 OPS is his highest since his 1.124 showing over 24 contests during his rookie year, and he has more home runs (three) in Cincy than he did across 100 games in Pittsburgh (two) this season.

So what exactly happened here? Are the Pirates really just that terrible at developing players? Does Hayes simply feel good to be part of a team chasing a playoff spot? Or is it entirely possible that the former first-round pick is merely getting lucky?

Whatever the case may be, it's obviously frustrating for Pittsburgh, and what makes it even more infuriating is that Hayes is significantly helping an NL Central rival in its postseason quest (and thanks to the New York Mets' brutal collapse, the Reds just might get there).

What's next? Is Oneil Cruz going to get traded this offseason and then go somewhere and hit 40 home runs? Will Bryan Reynolds get dealt and become a .900 OPS guy again? Will Mitch Keller find a new home and turn into a Cy Young candidate?

Such is the case for the Pirates for what seems like forever. Pittsburgh has been one of baseball's worst franchises for decades now, and it doesn't seem to matter who is in charge or who is in a Pirates uniform.