Philadelphia Phillies non-tender Austin Hays, making former All-Star a free agent
Austin Hays, who was acquired around the trade deadline to serve as a needed right-handed bat but didn't pan out, was not tendered a contract on Friday by the Philadelphia Phillies, making him a free agent.
The Phillies avoided arbitration with catcher Garrett Stubbs and pitcher Jose Ruiz, signing each to a one-year deal. Philadelphia also tendered contracts to five others: second baseman Bryson Stott, shortstop Edmundo Sosa, third baseman Alec Bohm, outfielder Brandon Marsh and pitcher Ranger Suarez.
Hays came to Philadelphia one season removed from being an All-Star, but he fell out of the Baltimore Orioles' outfield mix in 2024. The lefty-heavy Phillies were looking for a right-handed hitter to either play every day or platoon with Marsh in left field.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had hoped Hays would fill that role. However, Hays couldn't stay healthy with the Phils, and when he was on the field, he didn't make as big of a difference as the club would have hoped.
Hays strained his hamstring days after the Phillies acquired him and landed on the injured list again with a kidney infection not long after being activated.
The 29-year-old played 22 games with the Phillies and hit .256 with a .672 OPS. He had just five doubles and no homers.
