Will Philadelphia Phillies Regret Moving On From Austin Hays This Offseason?

The Philadelphia Phillies knew they needed outfield help ahead of the trade deadline last season.

There were multiple targets this fan base wanted the front office to pursue, but ultimately it was Austin Hays who was brought in, someone Dave Dombrowski stated had been a target of theirs for multiple years.

On paper, the 2023 All-Star would have provided some more pop to the lineup and given them another weapon against left-handed pitching which Johan Rojas isn't able to provide at this stage of his career.

Coming off three straight seasons where he hit 16-plus home runs and had 60-plus RBI, it was a low-risk, high-reward move that could have provided the Phillies with the missing piece they've been looking for in the outfield.

But it didn't play out that way.

Hays had two separate stints on the injured list that resulted in him only getting into 22 games for Philadelphia, and when he was actually on the field, he didn't provide much value with a slash line of .256/.275/.397 and OPS+ that was 14 points below the league average.

The Phillies moved on from the veteran this winter when they non-tendered him, and after sitting on the open market for a while, he found his new home by agreeing to a deal with the Cincinnati Reds.

Could they come to regret that decision?

It's possible.

Philadelphia brought in Max Kepler to fill their outfield need, moving him into left field for the first time in his career that likely results in Brandon Marsh and Rojas platooning in center based on the pitching matchup.

Kepler has a high ceiling, evident by the campaigns where he hit 20-plus home runs in three out of his nine full Major League seasons and was one away from reaching that plateau in two others.

He also has a low floor, with six out of his nine years resulting in an OPS+ that's below the league average mark of 100.

Defense is where Kepler provides his real value, though.

He's been worth plus-66 Outs Above Average while Hays's mark is minus-nine.

However, outfield defense was not the issue for this group, it was their inability to produce consistent offense that really hindered this lineup when opposing pitching staffs were able to work around the stars at the top of the order.

It will be interesting to see how each player performs in 2025.

Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson both stated the Phillies weren't able to see what Hays could truly do because of the injuries, and if he's healthy this season, he could return to his All-Star form or be a solid contributor off the bench depending what his role is with the Reds.

Philadelphia also signed Kepler for $10 million while Hays got $5 million.

With their payroll already being tight as is, there's a chance the Phillies will regret their decision to move on from Hays when they could have gotten him for half the price of Kepler.