Philadelphia Phillies Trade Deadline Acquisition Still Has to Prove Team Right

The Philadelphia Phillies added Austin Hays at the MLB's trade deadline and are still waiting for him to settle into his new role.

Aug 27, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Austin Hays (9) hits a double against the Houston Astros during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the best records in MLB, but still have some players fighting for playing time down the stretch.

Outfielder Austin Hays, a Phillies' deadline add from the Baltimore Orioles, is one of those players fighting for his role. The team still needs him to break out and prove the them right for making him their main offensive acquisition.

While Philadelphia was constantly mentioned as a favorite to land the biggest names at the trade deadline, they opted to go for Hays instead.

As MLB.com's Todd Zolecki came up with the player on the Phillies roster with the most to prove down the stretch, Hays was the player he mentioned.

The 28-year-old slugger hasn't been much worse than he was with the Orioles, but has still been worse. Not a great sign for an already middling player.

He had a solid couple of seasons as an outfield bat before making his first All-Star squad a year ago. Expectations were as high as they had ever been, but came out of the gates playing just ok.

The Florida native has hit 38 home runs over the last three seasons. He's not an overwhelming power hitter, but definitely had a pop to his bat. Through 82 games this year, he's hit just four. That's a huge fall off and likely a reason that Baltimore felt ok shipping him off.

Since being traded to Philadelphia, Hays has put up a .254/.275/.373 slashing line with one home run and five RBI.

The role that he was expected to have was one against left-handed pitching. He's destroyed southpaws this season, putting up a .350/.402/.538 line against them. When batting against righties, though, he's been on the exact opposite end of things.

Rather than just play him against his strengths, however, he's pretty much been the every day guy in left field for the Phillies since returning from injury.

Philadelphia's starting outfield down the stretch seems to be Hays in left, Brandon Marsh in center and Nick Castellanos in right. Johan Rojas and Weston Wilson also make appearances every now-and-then.

Going from deadline addition with some situational upside to a regular start will come with some added expectations. Hays will need to step up his performance against right-handed pitching in order for the team to look smart for their approach to the deadline.

He's under team control for next year, so him turning things around will look good for the upcoming season as well.