Philadelphia Phillies fans have been none too pleased with the seemingly rudderless direction of the team's offseason, and missing out on re-signing centerfielder Harrison Bader was the latest ignominy. With Bader off the board the club will now need to pivot to a lesser-tier free agent if they want to bring in an outfield insurance policy. If that’s the route that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski chooses to take, he should take a long look at former trade deadline acquisition Austin Hays.
The Phillies’ history with Hays dates back to the 2024 deadline when he was brought over from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache. At the time Hays was coming off his best big league season in 2023, when he posted a .275/.325/.444 slash line and was named an All-Star. He continued that solid work into 2024, putting up a .255/.316/.395 mark through the first half in Baltimore.
Former Phillie Austin Hays could fill a big hole if the team gives him a second chance
Unfortunately, Hays never got going in Philly as a hamstring strain wiped out half of August followed by a dangerous kidney infection that took him out for the better part of September. All told, the Floridian outfielder only appeared in 22 regular season games for the Phils, posting an ugly .672 OPS. He would go on to take the field for two of the four games of the team’s ill-fated playoff matchup with the Mets, failing to collect a hit in four trips to the plate.
Although the Phillies controlled his rights for one more season via arbitration, the front office decided against tendering Hays a contract making him a free agent at season’s end. To fill the outfield void Dombrowski instead opted to bring in veteran Max Kepler on a one-year, $10 million pact, while Hays latched on with the Cincinnati Reds for one year and only $5 million.
While Kepler languished and ultimately lost his starting gig with the Phillies, Hays went about making his former team look foolish by smacking 36 extra base hits and working to a rock solid .768 OPS in 103 games for the Reds.
Now a free agent once again, Hays can most likely be had on a similar deal this offseason, a one-year agreement between $5 million and $10 million. In fact, he would fit the Phillies’ needs almost perfectly as despite signing former World Series hero Adolis García, the club’s outfield depth chart is still quite thin. As things stand García is set to play regularly in right field, with polarizing rookie Justin Crawford slated for everyday duty in center and a platoon of Brandon Marsh and Otto Kemp in left.
All three outfield spots are big question marks heading into 2026, as García is coming off of back-to-back poor seasons, Crawford has no major league experience, and Marsh and Kemp are both talented but flawed players. A bit more certainty would do wonders for the outfield mix and Austin Hays would provide just that.