The Chicago White Sox have already signed one former Baltimore Orioles player. They should consider adding another.
Austin Hays was non-tendered by the Phillies after being traded to Philadelphia at the trade deadline by the Baltimore Orioles.
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, 2024
The White Sox adding Hays makes total sense.
First, it would be reuniting him with Ryan Fuller, the Orioles' former co-hitting coach and now the Sox's head of hitting.
As New York Post's Jon Heyman pointed out, Hays struggled in Philadelphia because of a kidney ailment. So, he could be a candidate for a bounce-back season.
When he is going right, he is an All-Star caliber bat. He finished with 2.5 fWAR, a .275/.325/.444 slash line, 16 home runs, and a wRC+ of 112 in 2023. That is also when he made his lone All-Star appearance.
He was limited to just 85 games this season, where he produced a .255 average and a .711 OPS in 63 games for Baltimore. His time in Philly after he was traded there was not so great, as he had a .672 OPS in 22 games.
Hays was projected to get $6.4 million in arbitration according to MLBTradeRumors.com. Hitting five home runs is not worth that number.
He does have some pop in his bat, as he hit 54 from 2021-2023 for the Orioles. His wRC+ during that time was always over 100.
The only drawback is he had -8 defensive runs saved in left field this season. He still has a highly rated arm and almost won a Gold Glove in 2023.
The key with this signing would be the Sox trying to get a bounce-back season from a player who still should have some productive years left given that he is still 29.
The Sox are shopping at the discount rack, and in some instances, the scrap heap, of free agency. Hays has just been sent there by being non-tendered. This would be a low-risk, high-reward signing.
It would also make the outfield very crowded as Andrew Benintendi's contract is mandating his stay on the roster. However, do not be shocked if the Sox tried to attach his contract in any deal with Garrett Crochet. That would be terrible for the franchise to get less of a return on Crochet just to get out from under Benintendi's bloated contract.
One other option could be to just platoon Benintendi and Hays at DH and in left field now that Gavin Sheets is gone after the Sox decided to non-tender him.
Either way, the Sox should be tapping into any player on the free-agent market with ties to Fuller.