Phillies acquire Austin Hays from the Orioles for Dominguez and Pache Originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
He’s not Luis Robert Jr. or one of the best hitters available on the market, but the Phillies did acquire the right fielder they were looking for, completing a trade Friday with the Baltimore Orioles to acquire Austin Hays for Seranthony Dominguez and Cristian Pache.
Hays is a 29-year-old right-handed-hitting outfielder who has hit .328 against lefties this season with a career .791 OPS. He was a mainstay in the Orioles’ lineup from 2021-23 but had become a less vital player on a roster crowded with young position players and prospects graduating to the majors. Overall, he has hit .255/.316/.395 in 175 plate appearances after missing three weeks in April and May with a calf strain.
Hays broke out in 2021 with 22 homers. Last season, he hit .314 with an .853 OPS in the first half and was a starter in center field for the American League in the All-Star Game.
Hays is owed the remainder of his $6.3 million salary this year. This winter will be his last time going through the arbitration process and he will be a free agent after 2025.
The Phillies had been looking for a right fielder to pair with Brandon Marsh in left field. Marsh is an important part of the team, but he hasn’t hit against lefties, going 7-for-50 (.140) with 26 strikeouts.
Whit Merrifield was signed at the start of spring training to fill that role, but he did not hit. He was released on July 12 after hitting .199 and has since joined the Braves.
Pache didn’t hit enough, either. He finished his Phillies career with a .218/.302/.335 slash line in 213 plate appearances and wasn’t a viable enough offensive option to pair with Marsh.
The Phillies have been using Weston Wilson in a platoon role in left field since Merrifield’s release and he’s been serviceable at times, but Hays is a more proven option for a team with major postseason aspirations.
Dominguez’s departure is both surprising and unsurprising. Surprising in the sense that a team looking to win now traded a key bullpen player, and unsurprising in the sense that he had struggled for most of the year and looked like a potential move-on candidate. You have to give in order to get, and the Phillies were able to acquire Hays without trading any prospects.
The Phillies signed Dominguez in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic, and he became one of the success stories of international scouts, reaching the majors in 2018 and dazzling as a strikeout-heavy closer. He was sidelined by an elbow injury in 2019 and underwent Tommy John surgery the following summer but eventually returned for the 2022 season. He made 54 appearances that year and 57 the next with a combined 3.39 ERA.
Dominguez leaves the Phillies with some of the best postseason numbers in franchise history. In 16 innings, he allowed two runs for a 1.13 ERA with 25 strikeouts and four walks. He should find a solid role in Baltimore’s bullpen, reuniting with 2023 teammate Craig Kimbrel.
Hays will start regularly for the Phillies against left-handed pitching and could also face right-handed pitchers, giving manager Rob Thomson the option to optimize the offense some nights by playing Marsh in center and Hays in left.
