Kansas City Remains Interested in Austin Hays

[Kevin O'Brien]

On Wednesday morning, Jon Heyman reported that the Royals are among the teams still interested in acquiring free-agent outfielder Austin Hays.

 

 

Hays is coming off a solid season with a Reds team that made the postseason a year ago (they lost in the Wild Card round to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers). In 416 plate appearances, the 30-year-old outfielder slashed .266/.315/.453 with a .327 wOBA, 105 wRC+, 15 home runs, and 64 RBI. He also accumulated a 1.2 fWAR with the Reds in 2025, a one-fWAR improvement from his split season with the Orioles and Phillies in 2024.

The 2016 third-round pick was primarily effective as a lefty-masher with Cincinnati. In 105 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, he hit .319 with a 155 wRC+, .231 ISO, and 0.50 BB/K ratio. Conversely, in 289 plate appearances against righties last year, Hays hit .249 with an 88 wRC+, .173 ISO, and 0.20 BB/K ratio.

Thus, if the Royals acquire Hays, it's likely that he could be in a platoon role, splitting time in either right field with Jac Caglianone or in left field with Isaac Collins. Lane Thomas, in this scenario, would likely split time with Kyle Isbel in center field. 

When looking at his Statcast summary profile via TJ Stats, Hays shows adeptness at pulling and barreling the ball. However, his exit velocity and plate discipline metrics were shaky last season. As a result, his .300 xwOBA was 27 points lower than his actual wOBA, a sign that he could be due for regression in 2026.

 

The Royals still are reportedly trying to acquire Jarren Duran from the Red Sox or Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals. That said, Hays may be a nice consolation prize for the Royals if GM JJ Picollo isn't able to swing a trade for the Red Sox outfielder or Cardinals infielder this offseason. 

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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[RCT]

Also, if you wanted to get both Collins and Hays in the lineup at the same time some, Collins played 1,400+ innings at 2b in the minors and rated as an above average defender at the position.  Considering the current state of our 2b position, could play Collins some at 2b in addition to LF.  Would be nice to have some depth in 2026 for when someone gets hurt or underperforms expectations. Our next man up in the OF currently is probably Rave, not ideal.

[Kevin O'Brien]

2 hours ago, RCT said:

Also, if you wanted to get both Collins and Hays in the lineup at the same time some, Collins played 1,400+ innings at 2b in the minors and rated as an above average defender at the position.  Considering the current state of our 2b position, could play Collins some at 2b in addition to LF.  Would be nice to have some depth in 2026 for when someone gets hurt or underperforms expectations. Our next man up in the OF currently is probably Rave, not ideal.

That's a great point. Collins has that 2B versatility. I think the Royals are building some nice depth that can help them still maintain production even if there are injuries, which was not the case last year. 

[Lopsided]

The Royals signed India to a contract larger than I thought necessary, but I feel they were just hedging their bets that they might not be able to get someone much better. That being said, I can't see the Royals not running India out there daily trying to get their money's worth out of him.  Maybe just honing in on second base will make a difference.  I prefer Massey at second though if he can hit like he did in 2024.  He offered better than average range with some pop in his bat.  If they sign Hays, it probably does not bode well for Massey as it will push him further down the line  with Collins taking up some time at second base.  It should be an interesting spring training, one I am looking forward to.

[Kevin O'Brien]

Yeah at this point I think they’re banking on India turning it around with the hope that focusing on one position will help him get back to where he was two seasons ago. I personally like Massey more too but he just isn’t dependable with the bat and health. I think if they get Hays, you’re right, it’s tough to see Massey having any kind of role with this team in ‘26 until India is either traded away or released