Phillies brass speak on Austin Hays deal and trade deadline

Friday afternoon brought the Phillies a new outfielder to their offensive mix. The Phillies swapped Seranthony Dominguez and Cristian Pache with the Baltimore Orioles for Austin Hays.

For the Phillies, Hays has hammered lefties all season to the tune of a .328 batting average and an .894 OPS. He is a perfect platoon partner with Brandon Marsh in right field.

For Dave Dombrowski, he adds a player he’s been targeting for multiple years. “I’ve actually tried to acquire him the last 2 trading deadlines,” said the Phillies president of baseball operations.

Many think that Hays will be a platoon partner for Marsh but Dombrowski thinks he can he more tan just lefty insurance. “We think he can hit left-handed and right-handed pitching. He started in the All-Star Game last year, so he’s got pretty good ability from our perspective.”

Last season, Hays slashed .275/.325/.444 with 16 homers and 36 doubles. He hit .314 with an .853 OPS before the All-Star break. He also his .280 against RHP in 2023.

So long Ser

In order to get the deal done, the Phillies shipped out long-time reliever Seranthony Dominguez. He had been in the Phillies’ system since 2012 and made his MLB debut in 2018.

“I had spoken to the Orioles a few weeks ago and one of the things we had talked about was if they were willing to trade one of their outfielders they would have to be in a position where they got a big league-ready bullpen guy”, said Dobrowski.

The deal progressed quickly. While the seed was planted weeks ago, Dombrowski revealed “It was all within a day”.

As for any future deals, Seranthony Dominguez’s departure seems to set up the serious pursuit of a late-inning reliever.

“We heven’t had a good 6 games out of the bullpen but it’s not the first time that’s ever happened,” said Dombrowski on the state of the bullpen. There was no panic in his voice. In fact, he ran down everything he liked about the relievers already in the pen. That did come with a caveat.

“You can still get better, said Dombrowski. “You never have enough good bullpen arms”

He also said that they probably aren’t looking for a strict closer. Instead, they’re interested in adding someone who can get outs in high-leverage situations to complement how Rob Thomson has run his bullpen.

Overall on trade deadline talks, Dombrowski emphasized being aggressive early.

“Because there are so many clubs that are buyers that if you are going to make a trade that is somebody you really want you better be aggressive.”

He also mentioned how talks have developed quickly and that teams know who they are interested in. Things might not move early before the deadline, but the gears are turning.

Rob Thomson’s take

Even though the Phillies won’t be facing a LHP in this current series, Rob Thomson seemed eager to get Austin Hays in the lineup. “I want to get a chance to see him play,” said the Phillies’ skipper.

He gave Hays his vote of confidence, referencing Hays’ 2023 All-Star campaign. Both Dombrowski and Thomson echoed that Hays hadn’t gotten a huge chance against righties this season and that they believe in his ability as a hitter.

Thomson was tight-lipped on how he’ll use his outfielders for now. He mentioned that he still had to sit down and talk with his outfield unit.

He did bring up that Hays can play centerfield on top of leftfield.

Even with the addition, Thompson still has confidence in Brandon Marsh that he’ll figure lefties out. “I still see some at bats that are good [against LHP],” said Thomson. “It’s gonna come.”