Cincinnati Reds 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes is off to a 3 for 34 start to the 2026 season. In 215 PA since coming over to the Reds from the Pittsburgh Pirates last summer, he’s the owner of a combined .208/.288/.297 (.585 OPS, 60 OPS+) line, and that was enough to make me dive back into the performances of some other notable Reds during their tenures with the club as comparison.
Jack Hannahan (2013-2014)
Hannahan, like Hayes, was primarily a 3B, though he did at least bounce around to other positions on the infield where he also couldn’t
hit.
In 212 PA with the Reds across two seasons, he memorably hit .209/.294/.278 (.572 OPS). That was good for an OPS+ of 60 in that era.
Corey Patterson (2008)
Patterson came to the Reds after a stint with the Baltimore Orioles after having also been a half-decent player for the Chicago Cubs for a time. In 2008, he logged 392 PA with the Reds – many in the leadoff spot – and hit a whopping .205/.238/.344 (.582 OPS). In that particular offensive environment, that was good for an OPS+ of just 50.
Skip Schumaker (2014-2015)
Skip was brought in to help anchor the Reds after they’d somehow found a way to twice win 90+ games without him at the early portions of that decade. The veteran veteran hit the ground running in 2014 with a .235/.287/.308 (.595 OPS) in 271 PA in 2014, a mark that was good for a 68 OPS+.
His veteran presence presented the Reds with such a good opportunity that they brought him back for a 2015 season that was significantly better as he hit .242/.306/.336 (.642 OPS). That was a remarkable 76 OPS+!
Paul Janish (2008-2011)
Soft-J was, like Hayes, an incredibly gifted defender, and for that he provided quite the service to the Reds in his time. With the bat, he was – like Hayes – accomplished in the sense that he can actually tell other human beings that he got hits at the Major League level.
In 975 PA across four seasons with the Reds, Paul hit .221/.289/.302 (.591 OPS). That was good for a 59 OPS+.
Doug Flynn (1975-1977)
Flynn, the glue of the Big Red Machine, is notable in that he managed to compile a pretty remarkable -6.9 bWAR for his career spent with 5 franchises across 11 seasons.
With the Reds, though, he swung a mean bat. He hit .275/.310/.341 (.651 OPS) in 411 PA across a trio of seasons. That was good for an OPS+ 0f 82, which was way better than the .238/.266/.294 line he compiled in 4085 career PA at the big league level. That career mark was good for a 58 OPS+.
