Former Baltimore Orioles Star Outfielder Non-Tendered by Phillies

A player Baltimore dealt at this year’s trade deadline is set to hit free agency as the Philadelphia Phillies opt to not tender him a contract.

Jul 21, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Austin Hays (21) slides into third base during the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Austin Hays is set to be a free agent after the Philadelphia Phillies decided not to tender him a contract for the 2025 season, per the New York Post.

Friday was the deadline for Major League Baseball teams to tender their arbitration-eligible players contracts for next season. It does not mean the two sides have agreed to terms. It simply means the team intends to work with them on a new contract for next season.

Arbitration-eligible players can avoid that process by signing a new deal before the middle of January.

Philadelphia traded for Hays in the hope that he could move immediately into their outfield rotation. Baltimore needed pitching and received relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez and journeyman outfielder Cristian Pache in return.

But he didn’t work out for the Phillies. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski explained why during the general manager meetings in San Antonio earlier this month.

“We did not see a good version of Austin Hays from the day we got him, unfortunately,” Dombrowski said to MLB.com. “He was hurt. He got a kidney infection right away. We've seen Austin Hayes play plenty, we liked him a great deal, we're absolutely thrilled that we got him. But we never saw the guy that we really have seen in the past period and of course, early in the year we didn't see him a lot last year because he wasn't playing on a full-time basis. We still have to evaluate where all that falls going forward.”

Hays was only able to play in 22 games for the Phillies, as he finished with a slash line of .256.275/.397/.672 with two home runs and six RBI.

With Baltimore last season he batted .255/.316/.395/.711 with three home runs and 14 RBI. The emergence of rookie Colton Cowser made Hays somewhat expendable for Baltimore. Cowser went on to finish second in American League rookie of the year voting.

Hays was an All-Star for the Orioles in 2023, as he slashed .270/.325/.440/.769 with 16 home runs and 67 RBI in 144 games as the Orioles won 100 contests and claimed the American League East championship.

Two seasons before that, in 2021, he had a career-high 22 home runs and 71 RBI.

Hays has one more year of arbitration eligibility based on service time. His release creates an unexpected opportunity to explore the free-agent market for the first time. He was Baltimore’s third-round pick in 2016.