The Philadelphia Phillies are going through it right now regarding the state of their outfield. Brandon Marsh is struggling to emerge from a season-long slump, Max Kepler is fighting to keep his OPS above .700 and Johan Rojas is just hoping to get some at-bats.
So, while Phillies fans are gnashing their teeth about how this season has started, a former Phillies' outfielder had a smashing season debut with his new club on Tuesday.
Why wouldn't former Phillies' outfielder Austin Hays homer in his first game with the Reds?
Austin Hays, who the Phillies non-tendered in November, came off the 10-day IL and introduced himself to Cincinnati Reds fans in a big way. He crushed a three-run home run to center field against Seattle Mariners' starter Luis Castillo. It was part of a 2-for-4 night, that saw Hays drive in four runs in the Reds' 8-4 win.
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to go out. I thought I missed under it," Hays said after the game, per MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "I thought it was too high, but [the center fielder] kept going, kept going."
It's not even the first time Hays has introduced himself to his new fan base with fireworks — he had a monster game at the beginning of spring training. Unfortunately, he started the season on the shelf with a left calf strain and had to wait until now to get into the action with his new team.
Hays signed a one-year, $5 million contract in Cincinnati in the offseason after the Phillies cut bait with their failed trade deadline experiment. Hays played just 22 games over the final two months of the season after the Phillies sent outfielder Cristian Pache and right-hander Seranthony Domínguez to Baltimore in return.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had hoped that Hays would fix what was a weak left field in 2024. Instead, the former All-Star never got his footing, dealing with a calf strain and a kidney infection that derailed his time in red pinstripes.
While the Phillies had to make some changes after a disappointing finish to 2024, which left Hays as the odd man out, this season hasn't started out on the right foot for some of the outfield. Outfielders not named Nick Castellanos, who's slashing .306/.358/.532, have had a rough start to the season.
Marsh is slashing .100/.229/.175 and is currently riding an 0-for-29 heading into Wednesday's game. Kepler's slashing .245/.333/.377, raising his batting average with a pair of hits in each of the last two games. Rojas is hitting .250/.333/.250 in 16 at-bats, with a 26.3 percent strikeout rate.
Those three players have combined for nine RBIs in the early going. Hays is halfway to that total after one game. Because, baseball.