Reds active Ke'Bryan Hayes, place Matt McLain on the 10-day injured list

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was activated off the injured list by the Cincinnati Reds before their game Friday night against the Chicago Cubs.

The Reds also placed Matt McLain on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain. The move is retroactive to July 8.

Hayes missed 42 games due to a bulging disc in the lower area of his back. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates near the trade deadline last year and won his second NL Gold Glove.

However, Hayes has struggled at the plate this season, batting .142 with two home runs and five RBIs in 42 games. Hayes is hoping that some work he did in Arizona building back his swing will lead to improvement the rest of the season.

“I’ve never really been a drill guy, but I think those have helped with kind of rewiring the brain to help my body move a certain way, because once you swing for a month, two months, three months, a certain way, it’s hard to just flip a switch and change those movement patterns,” he said.

With McLain on the IL and TJ Friedl still banged up after crashing into the wall while making a catch on Wednesday, Spencer Steer made his first big league appearance in center field in the series opener.

Manager Terry Francona said he approached Steer about the possibility on Thursday.

“The more I talked to him, he said, ‘I can do it.’ I don’t want to put guys in a position where it’s unfair to them or something like that. But I think the more we talked about it, he got really excited,” Francona said. “He’s not going to be the go-getter out there. That’s unfair, but I bet he makes the plays he’s supposed to make.”

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