The Philadelphia Phillies have been knocking on the door of a championship the last several seasons, using a series of shrewd trades and big-name signings to put together one of the best rosters in the National League.
Now, as the team looks to build its 2025 roster, some tough decisions were bound to be made ahead of Friday's non-tender deadline. MLB teams have until 5 p.m. Eastern Time to tender contracts to players who are eligible for salary arbitration ahead of the new season.
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A surprising victim of the Phillies' pending roster crunch: outfielder Austin Hays. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Phillies informed Hays they will not tender him a contract for 2025.
Austin Hays was informed he is being non-tendered by Phillies. Only 29, Hays suffered through a severe kidney infection after being traded to Philly. Only a year removed from an All Star and Gold Glove finalist season, he’ll be an interesting free agent.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 22, 2024An All-Star with the Baltimore Orioles in 2023, Hays went from the Orioles to the Phillies in a July trade that sent pitcher Seranthony Domniguez and outfielder Cristian Pache to Baltimore — a rare deadline trade involving major league players on two contending teams.
However, Hays missed time in August with a hamstring strain, then missed more time in September with a kidney infection, and was limited to just 22 games after the trade.
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Overall, Hays slashed .255/.303/.396 in 85 games with the Orioles and Phillies in 2024. He immediately becomes an intriguing free agent for teams banking on Hays returning to his 2023 form, when he slashed .275/.325/.444 and made the American League All-Star team for the first time.
Hays, 29, is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility in 2025. He's a career .261 hitter, with 68 home runs and 248 RBIs in 579 major league games. He compiled a career-high 22 home runs and 71 RBIs with the Orioles in 2021, and has seen time at all three outfield positions.
With the Phillies, Hays was a valuable fourth outfielder on a team with Brandon Marsh in left, Johan Rojas in center field, and Nick Castellanos in right.
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Rojas, 24, struggled at times in his first full big league season in 2024, slashing .243/.279/.322 with 25 stolen bases in 29 attempts. Although Hays might have been a luxury the Phillies deemed too expensive, he was a valuable insurance policy in case Rojas' struggles continue into 2025.
The Phillies were also a somewhat late entry into the Juan Soto sweepstakes. Optimistically, cutting ties with Hays is a sign the team is serious about its pursuit of Soto.
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More realistically, both the pursuit of Soto and the decision to non-tender Hays are signs president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is looking to upgrade the team's outfield in some way.
Even though Hays is a good candidate to have a strong season in 2025, Friday's news suggests the Phillies are looking for more.
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