Cardinals Were Lucky to Miss on Austin Hays After Rumored Interest

The St. Louis Cardinals reportedly had interest in bringing Austin Hays to town.

Apr 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox left fielder Austin Hays (21) hits a two-run single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

There was a time throughout this past offseason in which the St. Louis Cardinals were connected to a handful of different outfielders.

With Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras out the door, the Cardinals needed another righty bat to try to balance the lineup. With Lars Nootbaar recovering from offseason heel surgery, St. Louis specifically needed a boost in the outfield. Naturally, this led to a lot of chatter around right-handed bats who were available and could play in the outfield.

One name that popped up was veteran outfielder and former All-Star Austin Hays.

The Cardinals were among a group with the New York Mets and New York Yankees who "maintained contact" with Hays in free agency, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. While this is the case, the Cardinals missed out on him because they could not offer him a guaranteed, consistent role, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals Avoided A Mistake

Apr 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami (5) celebrates with left fielder Austin Hays (21) after hitting a two-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

"All offseason, the Cardinals had one eye on the outfielder/designated hitter/first base market for a right-handed option to add to a left-leaning group," Goold wrote. "They had interest in Austin Hays, according to sources, but could not offer him the chance to be a starter or that kind of playing time."

Ultimately, Hays signed with the Chicago White Sox and this was actually a good thing for St. Louis. Hays has played in just nine games so far this season and is slashing .219/.242/.344 with one homer and six RBIs. That's certainly not a lot of production. He landed a one-year, $6 million deal to join the White Sox. That's not a ton of cash in the grand scheme of things when it comes to Major League Baseball. But the Cardinals avoided an expense for a player who has struggled so far early in the season.

The Cardinals aren't necessarily getting the production they need out of left field right now, but there are options down in the minors who could help at some point in Joshua Báez and Nelson Velázquez, without handing out a $6 million contract. All in all, the Cardinals dodged a tough deal here and are better for it.

Right now, the Cardinals are 14-9 on the season and are tied for second place in the National League Central with the Chicago Cubs. Both St. Louis and Chicago are 1 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the top spot.