*Photo from Baltimore Sports and Life*
Nobody saw this one coming. The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired OF Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for OF Cristian Pache and RHP Seranthony Dominguez, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Both teams have confirmed the deal.
In a rare trade between two World Series hopeful teams, major league players are involved on both ends of the deal. The Phillies get Hays, who has struggled with the bat while also dealing with injuries this season but is very reliable defensively and has succeeded in a platoon role this season. He was named an all star in 2023 and ended up starting the game in center field.
Hays is currently in his 7th season in the majors, all with the Orioles. So far this year, he has a .255/.316/.395 slash line to his name with a .711 OPS and 106 OPS+, hitting 3 home runs and 13 doubles with 14 RBI's in 63 games.
Dave Dombrowski, Phillies president of baseball operations, said of Hays "We’ve actually tried to acquire him the last two deadlines and have been asked for much more than we’ve wanted to give. He’s a good hitter. I know he hasn’t played all that much this year. He’s gotten squeezed out in playing time with the amount of good young outfielders that they have. When we’ve seen him, we’ve liked him. He can hit. He’s a gamer. He can play left field well, and we’re looking for a bit better at-bats from the right side and he fits it."
One thing Hays has done exceptionally this season is hit left handed pitching. Hays' .894 OPS against southpaws this season is 41st out of 212 players with at least 70 plate appearances against lefties. He has a career .791 OPS against lefties and .727 OPS against righties, though he only has a .585 OPS against righties this year.
Hays said of joining the Phillies "To go from one first-place team to another one is probably everything you could ask for as a player. There’s not very many teams you could feel like you’re upgrading in a way from where you were when your team was in first place. But that’s how I feel. I feel like I’m coming into a place where we have an even better chance of winning a World Series."
The Orioles on the other hand needed bullpen help, and in comes Dominguez to help with that. He's under contract for the rest of this season, and there's an $8 million team option for 2025 with a $500,000 buyout. He's had success the last few months, having a 2.86 ERA since the calendar flipped to May.
Dominguez is in his 6th year in the major leagues, all in a Phillies uniform. Prior to the trade, he had a 4.75 ERA, 4.26 FIP, and 1.22 WHIP to his name, recording one save while averaging 3 walks per 9 innings and 10 strikeouts per 9 in 36 innings pitched across 38 appearances.
With Hays going out, the Orioles picked up another outfielder in Pache. A former top prospect with the Atlanta Braves, Pache has struggled with the bat in the majors but has good range in center field and can make things happen defensively. He'll likely be a 5th outfielder/defensive replacement with the Orioles.
Pache is in his 5th year in the majors since debuting in 2020, having played for the Braves, Phillies, and the Oakland Athletics. So far this season, he has a .202/.288/.269 slash line with a paltry 60 OPS+, hitting 5 doubles and one triple with no home runs and 9 RBI's in 50 games.
Both teams are leading their respective divisions as the trade deadline approaches. The Orioles currently have a 61-42 record and lead the AL East by two games, while the Phillies are 64-39 and have a 9 game lead on the NL East.
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