What the Phillies can learn from failed Whit Merrifield experiment for Austin Hays

The Philadelphia Phillies didn't waste any time announcing their presence on the trade market when they acquired outfielder Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. The Phillies parted ways with outfielder Cristian Pache and reliever Seranthony Domínguez in the deal.

The move for Hays adds an established right-handed bat to the lineup and gives manager Rob Thomson another outfielder who can enter the everyday mix in left and center field. A one-time All-Star in 2023, Hays has not had many opportunities to repeat his performance from last season, only appearing in 63 games and getting 157 at-bats in a reduced role for the AL-leading Orioles in 2024. That's likely to change in a Phillies uniform.

With another year of control beyond this season, the Phillies are clearly banking on Hays returning to playing somewhere close to his previous All-Star peak, as evidenced by the team being comfortable trading away Domínguez and Pache in a two-for-one deal. Hays' acquisition puts to rest all of the recent speculation over the Phillies making a major trade that would have involved a substantial haul of prospects changing hands.

While the Phillies parted ways with two members of the 26-man roster to get the deal done, the team still has the requisite trade capital to make another impact deal before Tuesday's deadline.

What the Phillies can learn from failed Whit Merrifield experiment for Austin Hays

What should we expect from the addition of Hays to the outfield mix? Expect Hays to play every day and Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas to see more of a classic platoon in center field. Unless the Phillies have another move for an outfielder in the works, it makes sense to see Marsh, who struggles against left-handed pitching, and the right-handed hitting Rojas form a platoon the rest of the way this season.

As for Hays, Thomson spoke with the media before Friday's game, and he was clear that he plans to play Hays every day, adding that he doesn't "see him as [part of] a platoon, to tell you the truth." Following a shambolic three and half months of poor offensive performance from recently released Whit Merrifield, it's clear Thomson doesn't plan on letting Hays' bat have an opportunity to go unused for long like they did with Merrifield's at times this season.

Hays got his first start on Saturday against Cleveland Guardians left-hander Carlos Carrasco — he went 1-for-4 with a stolen base. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski gave a clearer explanation (subscription required) of why the Phillies opted to trade for Hays, and why, with Marsh's noted struggles against left-handed pitching, this move needed to be made.

“We felt very comfortable to have a defensive player in center field in either Rojas or [Cristian] Pache, but all of a sudden we were playing two defensive players against a lefthander, in left field and in center field,” said Dombrowski per Lauber. “And you can get by with that at times. But if you’re trying to do a little bit extra, having a guy who can hit left-handed pitching and hit it pretty well in a big series can be very important.”

Now that we’ve had our first chance to see Hays in action, was Saturday’s lineup the one that Phillies fans should get used to seeing on an everyday basis going forward? After speaking to Rojas and Marsh after the trade was finalized, Thomson confirmed via a social media post from Todd Zolecki that Hays will be the Phillies everyday left fielder for the rest of the season, with Rojas and Marsh forming a platoon based on pitching matchups.

It remains to be seen if the Phillies are done shopping for outfielders, but it became abundantly clear over the last couple of weeks that an upgrade was desperately needed in the outfield. While the Phillies seem confident that they've found the right man for the job, the Phillies can't afford to let Hays become the new Whit Merrifield. and waste away on the bench without at-bats over the last couple of months of the season.