This was not what I had anticipated.
The Phillies have made their first transaction of the season:
The Phillies have acquired OF Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for RHP Seranthony Domínguez and OF Cristian Pache. Hays will wear No. 9.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 26, 2024
Hays is having a good season.255/.316/.395 with the Orioles in 175 plate appearances, with three home runs and fourteen RBI. With a season wRC+ of 103, it’s a little above average, but it’s a significant improvement over Cristian Pache and a solution to their left field problems.
I know what you’re thinking: is he capable of hitting left-handed pitchers? Against left-handers this season, he is hitting.328/.394/.500 in 72 plate appearances. He has a differentiator in his career versus left-handers, hitting.272/.328/.463. He is rated as an average defender on the field, despite having a -2 OAA at the moment this season.
The Phillies had to give up a bullpen piece that appears to be abandoned in exchange for his services. During their 2022 postseason run, Seranthony Dominguez proved to be a crucial member of their bullpen, collaborating with Jose Alvarado to shut out opponents virtually at will until he ran out of gas. Since then, he has had control issues and has slipped down the bullpen hierarchy to the point that the team felt secure enough to close this deal. Pache’s departure to Baltimore provides the Phillies with an additional available roster slot, as the team was probably going to let him go after the deadline passed.
It raises the question of what will happen to Hays now that he is in control. Does the team platoon Johan Rojas and Brandon Marsh in center field and make him the team’s long-term left field starter? Will the team be adding more outfielders in the future? We’ll see how things work out because this is probably the Phillies’ first domino to fall at the deadline.