Why the Phillies traded for Austin Hays and how they view him, as focus shifts to bullpen

PHILADELPHIA — Weeks ago, when Dave Dombrowski contacted the Baltimore Orioles about Austin Hays, the parameters were clear. If two of the best teams in baseball were going to find common ground on a trade, it would have to include big-league pieces going each way. The Orioles wanted a reliever. The talks stalled.

But, as the Phillies struggled to find a seller with a decent righty-hitting outfielder at a reasonable price, they kept coming back to the situation in Baltimore. Hays was a productive player in previous seasons who had been forced into a part-time role as the Orioles’ roster improved. This colored all of the Phillies’ discussions about Hays: Maybe he’s a platoon player come October but, for now, the Phillies view him as a victim of circumstance.

It’s an old-school challenge trade between two contenders. The Phillies will see what Hays can do before determining what role he’ll fill in the postseason.

“I want to get a chance to see him play,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “How I’m going to do that exactly, I’m not sure.”

Hays, acquired Friday for Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache, was the first piece of the Phillies’ trade deadline sharpening. They remain engaged in adding another reliever, especially after subtracting Domínguez from that mix. They are expected to trade for at least one more reliever before Tuesday’s deadline. Dombrowski, the club’s president of baseball operations, admitted as much.

The Phillies saved prospect capital by obtaining Hays with players from their active roster. (Pache was a strong candidate to be designated for assignment whenever the Phillies added an outfielder.) It will cost a decent package to trade for a late-inning reliever. The Phillies are willing to pay.

“We have a chance to win,” Dombrowski said, “and we’re going to try to make the effort to do so.”

The Phillies had canvassed the outfield market and were open-minded about different ideas. They had talked with Tampa Bay about Randy Arozarena, major-league sources said, but balked when the Rays asked for a top prospect. They liked Lane Thomas of the Nationals but viewed him as a platoon player while Washington valued him higher.

Hays joined the Phillies and sat on the bench Friday night. He’ll probably start Saturday against Cleveland righty Carlos Carrasco. It’s natural to see him as a partner for Brandon Marsh; Hays has hit .328/.394/.500 against lefties in 2024. Marsh has not hit lefties.

But, as the Phillies did digging on Hays, they found a player who felt slighted that his role was reduced after an All-Star season. He was one of the longest-tenured players in Baltimore. He produced against righties in 2023. He was passable against them in 2022. Hays, 29, is said to be motivated to prove he can be an everyday player again. He started 135 times last season for a team that won 101 games.

Dombrowski said he inquired about Hays at each of the last two deadlines. He was more available this time. There were reasons. The Phillies think they can find a better use for Hays than the Orioles did; Baltimore thinks the same thing about Domínguez. It’s a fun trade.

“We think he can hit left-handed and right-handed pitching,” Dombrowski said. “He’s done that in the past. He started in the All-Star Game last year. He has pretty good ability from our perspective. Now, Topper will make that lineup out, but we don’t think he’s just in a position where he has to be platooned by any means.”

It’s easy for the Phillies to say that right now: They want Hays to join the team without a label. And they have little to lose in the next month or two by seeing how Hays responds to regular at-bats. They could run a platoon with Marsh and Johan Rojas in center field. In that scenario, Rojas would lose the most playing time. He’d start in center whenever the Phillies face a lefty.

It’s possible that, after a month or two, the Phillies determine their best path forward is with Rojas’ glove in center every day and Marsh platooning with Hays in left. For now, they will leave all of the avenues open.

The focus now turns to the bullpen. The Phillies love velocity; that might be a prerequisite for the reliever they acquire, although two summers ago, David Robertson was their deadline bullpen boost. They have scouted closers from non-contending teams. Miami’s Tanner Scott is considered the best rental reliever available. Kyle Finnegan, Washington’s closer, is a target. The Phillies are not limiting their search to current closers; whoever they acquire will not become the club’s set closer.

“I don’t think that’s been the way we’ve used our bullpen,” Dombrowski said. “So I wouldn’t just use a closer. I’d see somebody who can pitch innings late in a game that are important innings for us, like our other guys do.”

Dombrowski said he would not let the recent downturn for the bullpen influence his perspective, but it has to be a factor. José Alvarado and Gregory Soto will continue to have high-leverage chances. Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm have been terrific, albeit with recent hiccups.

Orion Kerkering is a wild card; the Phillies love the rookie’s stuff but he has not had consistent command. “We feel that we’ve found some things in his delivery that will help him,” Dombrowski said. That fix: Kerkering, after reviewing video with coaches, believes he has been tipping his pitches for the past two or three weeks. He had a tell related to how he held his glove. The Phillies think opposing hitters knew whether a fastball or a slider was coming.

It’s been addressed.

“We’ve gotten away from attacking the zone a little bit,” Thomson said. “We need to do that. Because all those guys down there have great stuff. They’ve got strikeout stuff, bat-missing stuff. They just need to believe in it, trust their stuff, and run it through the zone.”

Domínguez had not done that enough. There was an argument for keeping Domínguez: He has performed before in the postseason. He knows what it’s like. Domínguez had been a Phillies employee for 13 years. His departure was tough for long-time staff members and teammates.

“So it was not easy,” Dombrowski said, “but we have a little bit of bullpen depth. We’ll still be looking to acquire bullpen (help), but we just felt that for us to get a right-handed hitter we had to give up something.”

Hays will play left field only. Dombrowski, the veteran executive, said he was “surprised” that Marsh had not produced against lefties.

“We still think he will do it,” Dombrowski said. “But it’s not something he’s done so far this year. We still think he has a chance to be an everyday player. … It’s not where we thought it would be at this time this year.”

Whether Hays steals more at-bats from Marsh or Rojas remains to be seen. A little competition for playing time is not the worst thing. This trade was made for October. If the Phillies feel like they need more offense in the postseason, the manager has a lever to pull.

“We have felt very comfortable to have a defensive player in center field in either Rojas or Pache,” Dombrowski said. “But, all of a sudden, we were playing two defensive players versus a left-hander in left field and in center field. 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 in a big series could be important.”

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(Top photo of Austin Hays: Derik Hamilton / Associated Press)