Philadelphia Phillies fans have been none too pleased with the seemingly rudderless direction of the team's offseason, and missing out on re-signing centerfielder Harrison Bader was the latest ignominy. With Bader off the board the club will now need to pivot to a lesser-tier free agent if they want to bring in an outfield insurance policy. If that’s the route that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski chooses to take, he should take a long look at former trade deadline acquisition Austin Hays.
The Phillies’ history with Hays dates back to the 2024 deadline when he was brought over from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache.