Austin Hays Is A Bench Bat Who’s Worth Bringing Back

The San Diego Padres cycled through a lot of bench players during the season, with the basic goal being to find some offense. This came with the usual array of ups and downs, but one player who’s worth bringing back is Austin Hays. 

Hayes made a splash during his first appearance with the Padres, as he hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in San Diego’s 7-2 win over the Houston Astros on Aug. 9. The Padres had several other bench players make this kind of dramatic debut, but some of them faded, most notably DH Nick Castellanos. 

But that didn’t happen with Hays. Instead he seemed to settle in, and as he did Hays became more productive. He wound up with a slash line of .316/.344/.456 in 57 at-bats over 26 games, and that’s certainly worth a 2027 encore. 

Hays was also competent in the outfield. He doesn’t have a lot of range, but Hays played six games in left field and a pair in right without committing an error. 

The major downside with Hays was his postseason performance as he went hitless in a limited number of at-bats, going 0-for-9. That’s not exactly unusual, though, as secondary bench players like Hays often struggle with the generally higher quality of postseason pitching that tends to expose them.  

The other risk with Hays is his ongoing availability going forward. The Padres had some tough luck with bench players going out with injuries, but Hays held up during his brief stretch. But the 31-year old DH/outfielder has struggle with injuries throughout his career, and he’s struggled with calf and hamstring issues in particular in the last couple of years. 

Contract-wise, Hays is coming off a $6 million year with the Chicago White Sox, who DFA’s him in early August after his struggles with leg injuries. 

So why is Hays worth bringing back? Statistically, the big draw is his .800 OPS, albeit with a limited sample size. But he’s a good candidate to be a platoon player or a spot starter, depending on the final makeup of the Padres roster next year. 

Hays would also come cheap, especially if he wants to lock in a low-cost deal with the lockout uncertainty that’s coming. A minor-league deal of $2-3 million would make sense with the appropriate options and bonuses included, and Hays is well worth taking a flyer on given that the fit seemed to be there in San Diego.