Phillies trade for Austin Hays from the Orioles for Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache

In looking over the roster that has produced the best record in baseball through two-thirds of the season, Phillies officials saw a need for a right-handed hitter to strengthen the lineup against left-handed pitching.

Maybe Austin Hays can do more than that.

The Phillies beat the trade deadline by four days on Friday, acquiring Hays from the Orioles for long-tenured reliever Seranthony Domínguez and reserve outfielder Cristian Pache. They have been shopping for at least one reliever before 6 p.m. Tuesday, so sending Domínguez to Baltimore doesn’t change their plans.

» READ MORE: Five things Phillies fans should know about new outfielder Austin Hays

“We were already kind of looking toward bullpen,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “That’s something we’ll continue to pursue.”

Meanwhile, Hays fits the profile of the outfielder the Phillies wanted. The 29-year-old is batting .328/.394/.500 in 72 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, making him the mirror image of Brandon Marsh, who hits righties (.279/.360/.482 this season) but struggles against lefties (.140/.211/.160).

But to hear Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson, Hays might get an opportunity to be the everyday left fielder, leaving Marsh to platoon in center field with righty-hitting Johan Rojas.

Thomson was coy about his plans for Hays, who arrived at Citizens Bank Park less than two hours before Friday night’s series opener against the Guardians. He repeatedly said that he’s “got to talk to a lot of people” before discussing the allocation of at-bats.

But Thomson did sound bullish about Hays’ potential impact.

“I do not see him as a platoon,” Thomson said. “This guy was an All-Star last year. For whatever reason, he wasn’t playing every single day. That’s maybe affected his numbers a little bit. I want to see what we have here.”

Indeed, Hays ceded playing time this season to young Orioles left fielder Colton Cowser. But he averaged 132 starts from 2021 to 2023 and batted .261 with 54 home runs and a .752 OPS. He had a 109 OPS+, meaning he was 9% better than league average.

» READ MORE: Phillies takeaways as the trade deadline looms: Fortifying the bullpen, assessing Johan Rojas, and more

Dombrowski even said he tried to acquire Hays at each of the last two trade deadlines, but the Orioles placed a higher value on him. In lieu of Hays, they acquired Marsh from the Angels at the 2022 deadline.

Hays isn’t a two-month rental, either. He’s making $6.3 million this year and is under team control via salary arbitration through next season.

“He’s a good hitter,” Dombrowski said. “He got squeezed out, we feel, by all the good young outfielders [the Orioles] have. He’s a gamer. He can play left field well. And we’re looking for a little better at-bats from the right-hand side.”

That was the primary attraction to Hays. As a team, the Phillies actually have a slightly better OPS against lefties (.777) than righties (.737). Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber handle lefties from the left side of the plate.

But the Phillies wanted to add a right-handed bat to their stable of Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, and Nick Castellanos in preparation for potential playoff matchups. The Braves, for instance, may present a challenge with lefties Max Fried and Chris Sale. The Mets’ rotation contains lefties Sean Manaea and José Quintana.

“Marsh has not hit left-handed pitching at all,” Dombrowski said. “We felt very comfortable to have a defensive player in center field in either Rojas or Pache, but all of a sudden, we were playing two defensive players against a left-hander in left field and in center field. And you can get by with that at times.

“But as you looked at our ballclub, we were a little susceptible to left-handed pitching in the outfield. If you put yourself in a position where you’re looking to win big games vs. good teams, you want to have as many guys as you can to hit left-handed pitching.”

» READ MORE: How aggressive will the Phillies be at the trade deadline? Let’s look at Dave Dombrowski’s history for clues.

At a minimum, Hays should help in that area. But how much will he play?

Marsh hasn’t been in the lineup against a non-opener lefty since May 16. He won’t start facing lefties now. Whether he splits time with Hays in left field or Rojas in center likely will hinge on the value of Hays’ offense vs. Rojas’ elite defense.

“It all depends how Austin hits,” Thomson said.

Whatever the case, Dombrowski said he’s likely finished adding to the outfield with one notable caveat: “You never know what will drop down.” But unless the White Sox lower what’s believed to be a high asking price for center fielder Luis Robert Jr., the Phillies’ outfield is set.

The focus now, then, shifts to the bullpen.

Domínguez’s stock fell this season as his ERA rose to 4.75 in 38 games. He was low in Thomson’s bullpen pecking order, behind fellow righties Jeff Hoffman and Orion Kerkering and lefties José Alvarado and Matt Strahm. While lefty Gregory Soto got an opportunity to pitch in the eighth and ninth inning this week, Domínguez didn’t receive a similar chance.

It ends a long Phillies run for Domínguez, who signed out of the Dominican Republic for $60,000 in 2011 and made his major-league debut in 2018. He emerged as a top late-inning option, and his back-to-back strikeouts of Cardinals sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in Game 2 of the wild-card series were a highlight of the 2022 postseason run.

» READ MORE: How aggressive will the Phillies be at the trade deadline? Let’s look at Dave Dombrowski’s history for clues.

“This year it’s been kind of hit and miss,” Thomson said. “I’ve always said as long as he powers the ball through the zone, he’s going to get people out. And I think he will. And when he does, he’s going to get people out. He may need just a little reset.”

Now, he will have an opportunity to pitch in high-leverage situations and meaningful games for the American League East-leading Orioles, who are using former Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning.

Pache, 25, batted .202/.288/.269 in a limited role on the bench. As a light-hitting right-handed batter but an elite defender in center field, his skill set was redundant with Rojas.

It remains to be seen how Hays fits into the puzzle. But it sounds like he will be a sizable piece.