Phillies activate Austin Hays and now have a problem in left field

The Philadelphia Phillies' outfield should start to look more like the front office had envisioned after the trade deadline with the most recent roster move. The team announced on Friday that left fielder Austin Hays has been activated from the 10-day IL and will join the Phillies for their three games in Kansas City against the Royals.

To make room on the 26-man roster, the corresponding move sees Cal Stevenson optioned back to Triple-A. The 27-year-old appeared in seven games (two starts) while Hays was on the IL. He went 2-for-10 with one RBI, a pair of walks and a strikeout.

Phillies activate Austin Hays and now have a problem in left field with Weston Wilson playing so well

The 29-year-old Hays went on the injured list on Aug. 9, retroactive to Aug. 8, after straining his left hamstring running out of the box in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. While it at first sounded like he might require the minimum time on the injured list and be able to return on Aug. 18, Hays took a few extra days.

He completed a two-game Triple-A rehab assignment with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In his first rehab game on Tuesday, he played five innings in left field and went 1-for-2 at the plate with a single and a walk. He played all nine innings in left on Wednesday, going 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.

Phillies all of a sudden have a good problem in left field

Now that Hays is back, it's assumed that he'll resume his everyday left field duties. The question becomes how much playing time will manager Rob Thomson allot for Weston Wilson?

Hays, who the Phillies picked up at the trade deadline, had only played in 10 games for the Phillies before getting hurt. Hays is slashing .263/.282/.395 with the Phillies and had just been starting to find his groove at the plate when he hit the IL. After a slow 1-for-8 start to his Phillies career, he hit .310 (9-for-30) with an .816 OPS, a home run, two doubles and a stolen base in seven games before the series finale against the Dodgers.

Wilson appeared in six games while Hays was on the shelf, hitting .476 with a 1.357 OPS in his 22 plate appearances, including his historic cycle. It will be hard for Thomson not to play the right-handed hitting Wilson. He said as much earlier this week, per Brooke Destra of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

But the Phillies went out and traded for Hays, who also hits right-handed, for a reason. They envisioned him as the everyday left fielder for the remainder of the season. Time will tell who gets the majority of playing time in left.