Chicago, IL (AP) – Healthy again, Austin Hays is looking to make the most of a new opportunity with the Chicago White Sox.
Hays heads to spring training as a regular outfielder for Chicago after finalizing a $6 million, one-year contract on Wednesday. He is expected to play right or left field for the rebuilding White Sox depending on the day.
“Going back into free agency, I really wanted to go somewhere where I would have an opportunity to do that, play every day, get back to being able to play both sides of the ball, play defense every day as well,” Hays said Thursday.
“I got a lot to give and I’m going to be able give that here with this team, and it’s a young, exciting team.”
The 30-year-old Hays hit .266 with 15 homers and 64 RBIs for Cincinnati last year, helping the Reds make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He batted .319 against left-handers and .249 against righties.
Hays joins an outfield group that also includes Andrew Benintendi and Luisangel Acuña, who was acquired from the New York Mets in the Luis Robert Jr. trade.
“He was an All-Star a couple of years ago,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “He had some health setbacks and perhaps now that the health stuff’s behind him, his body’s feeling really good, that we could tap back into him being the All-Star that he was in 2023.”
Hays was selected by Baltimore in the third round of the 2016 amateur draft. He played for the Orioles for his first six-plus seasons, setting career highs with 22 homers and 71 RBIs in 2021.
He was traded to Philadelphia on July 26, 2024. He hit .256 with two homers and six RBIs in 22 games for the Phillies while dealing with a kidney infection that also affected his offseason.
“I dealt with some stuff in the beginning of (last) year; it was a little lasting effects of the kidney infection, but you know, once I really got going, it was a great year,” Hays said. “I felt really good. So this year, I feel like I’m, you know way ahead of where I was starting out last year, being able to finish the year healthy and really just feel like myself mentally and physically being all the way back now.”
Hays had stints on the injured list last year for a left calf strain, a left hamstring strain and a left foot contusion. But he played in 103 games with the Reds after appearing in just 85 games in 2024.
“Playing over 140 games, that’s a good goal to hit for this year,” Hays said.
Hays will have a $5 million salary this season, and the contract includes an $8 million mutual option for 2027 with a $1 million buyout.
Chicago is looking to take another step forward after it finished last in the AL Central last year with a 60-102 record, a 19-game improvement from the previous season. It has a promising group of young position players that includes Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth.
The White Sox signed Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami to a $34 million, two-year contract in December, and they added a couple big arms to their bullpen by signing Seranthony Domínguez in free agency and trading for Jordan Hicks.
“You just want to continue to find ways to bring in players who can help you win baseball games,” Getz said. “And there’s different ways of doing that. You know, I do feel like we’re in a really, really good spot. We feel like we’ve had a very productive offseason.”
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