PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies had a plan in mind at the trade deadline when they acquired Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles.
With a lineup heavy on left-handed hitters, Hays was a hedge against running up against a nasty southpaw starter in the postseason. If Brandon Marsh or Johan Rojas found themselves in a postseason funk, Hays was another All-Star bat who might be able to carry a team for a game or two, a plus platoon option at the least and a decent everyday left fielder to plug into the bottom of the lineup.
It hasn’t worked out that way, Hays was limited to 78 at bats in two months by a succession of injuries. But as the postseason dawns, the front office’s deadline hope may be coming to fruition.
Manager Rob Thomson will have options in the playoffs. He can not only avoid the worst platoon matchup of the bunch, which is Marsh against lefties. He can opt for a best offensive lineup (with Hays in left and Marsh in center) or accentuate his defense (Marsh in left, Rojas in center).
“I don’t know what the formula is, but those are both things that we look at trying to make sure that, if we’ve got a fly-ball pitcher on the mound, then you know Rojas is the right guy,” Thomson said Wednesday. “Is he going to make up for whatever offense we lose? Is he going to make up for it on the defensive side? And if that outweighs the offensive side, then we know he’s going to play.”
It’s a give and take. Marsh hit .192 against lefties this year and .262 against righties. There’s selection bias in those numbers to make them seem closer than reality: Marsh often was in the lineup against more favorable lefties, avoiding tougher ones. Hays was pretty even in 2023 with Baltimore, batting .280 against righties and .262 against lefties, albeit with a higher OPS (.786 to .763) against the lefties. He crushed lefties to the tune of .354 this year, albeit in only 90 plate appearances.
“We did think that he could play every day when we acquired him, but we really believe that he can hit left-handed pitching,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday of Hays. “And so depending upon who we play and who we face, that could be an extremely important part of our ballclub, which we were looking at, at the trading deadline, saying, hey, if we get to this part, we could use one more good right-handed bat. I think he has a chance to really be valuable for us at this time of the year.”
Injuries have been the issue for Hays. A hamstring strain, a kidney infection and back soreness have limited him to 22 games since Aug. 1, though he’s rehabbed his way back into the playoff picture.
“My body definitely feels like I pushed it, but it was exactly what I needed,” he said. “It’s good now, though.”
Rojas’ splits are less discernible, slashing .255/.294/.339 against righties and .212/.243/.283 against lefties. The more pressing matter with Rojas is what recourse Thomson may have if the young center fielder becomes an offensive liability under the October lights, as he did in going 4-for-43 with 15 strikeouts and one walk last postseason.
Dombrowski has crafted this year’s roster to have more options. There likely won’t be many unenforced lineup changes once the postseason starts. You can write six of the lineup spots in ink. The outfield provides a place to tinker and, if needed, search for a jolt.
The bench is deeper this year, Dombrowski feels. So if an opponent tries to pull a tough lefty out of the ‘pen to take on Marsh in a big spot, he’s got Hays, who is 9-for-29 career as a pinch-hitter, or Weston Wilson, a career .333 hitter (though in just 48 at-bats) against lefties in the bigs. If Rojas gets a tough righty with men on, Kody Clemens is available, with Marsh able to shift to center and Hays into right at only minimal defensive cost. Rojas as a late-game defensive sub after three or four at bats for Hays in a favorable matchup can be a gamechanger (ask Ronald Acuna Jr.).
“When talk about the four outfielders, you’re going to have some somebody on the bench that you like in that regard,” Dombrowski said. “Particularly, some of them match up well pinch-hitting, vs. a left-handed pitcher or right-handed pitcher. So we think our overall letter bench is stronger.”
