Reds' Ke'Bryan Hayes has become a giant problem

Reds' Ke'Bryan Hayes has become a giant problem originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona was talking recently about animal sacrifice.

He's up for anything to try and wake up the bat of Ke'Bryan Hayes.

Hayes, whose magnificent glove at third base is lightyears ahead of his swing at the moment, is having a nightmare start to the season at the plate.

Through April 16, he's batting .061. His OPS is .204, which wouldn't even be a good batting average.

He doesn't have a single RBI yet, either.

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Clearly, if Hayes is going to hit .061 the whole season, it won't matter how good he is at the hot corner.

The balance the Reds are trying to strike is figuring out how much the former Pirate needs to hit to justify continuing to play him every day.

He's never been a great hitter, but he's had at least a small bit of promise in the batter's box before this season.

It's still early, so to some extent the numbers are a small sample size, but the sample is getting bigger and it's not like Hayes has heated right up.

At some point, Cincinnati may have to consider some alternatives. For now, they'll see what kind of voodoo can help Hayes break out.

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