News that was kind of expected has more or less officially come down that Austin Hays will not be tendered a contract from the Phillies 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, 2024
Hays struggled while with the Phillies, both on the field and off it. The kidney infection that he suffered was exceptionally severe and limited what he could do on the field. When he was on the field though, it wasn’t all great shakes.
I wrote about Hays in my end of season review, hypothesizing that calling the trade a failure is tough when the player gets hurt by way of an infection like he got. If we’re focusing on his actual production, he just wasn’t that good even before he got sick and at a projected $6.8 million arbitration number, the production he did give didn’t warrant his returning.
There’s always the possibility the team signs him back to a cheaper deal, but at this point they’re likely hunting bigger game to roam the outfield. The trade was a nice thought at the deadline, but it just didn’t work out.
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