Reds president delivers verdict on Austin Hays' $5,000,000 signing

On Thursday, free agent outfielder Austin Hays signed with the Cincinnati Reds for the 2025 season. Hays and the Reds agreed a one-year, $5 million, contract.

After an injury-riddled 2024 season, Hays will hope to bounce back with the Reds in 2025. Cincinnati Reds president of baseball operations, Nick Krall, discussed Hays' addition to the clubhouse on MLB Network Radio:

“First off, with Hayes, we looked at awesome Hayes. We looked at making some other outfield moves and didn't work out. But Hayes is a guy that two years ago he was an all-star, and he had some physical issues last year with the kidney issues.”

“We looked at it as, hey, if this guy's got a chance to bounce back, he's got a chance to be a really good player, especially in our ballpark. Really excited to have him. He's motivated to come back and get back to where he was.”

Due to injuries, Hays was limited to 85 games in 2024 and also suffered a serious kidney infection late in the season. The 2023 All-Star spent the year splitting time between the Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Reds president discusses Austin Hays’ position on the field

In the aforementioned interview, Krall also talked about Austin Hays’ expected playing position with the Reds.

“We talked to him for a while during the offseason, And when we did, it was something that just seemed like a really good match for us. He's going to be in the outfield,” Krall said.

“Spencer Steer plays left field, plays all over some infield outfield. TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, Stuart Fairchild. All those guys are going to be competing for playing time in the outfield at different spots.

“So we feel it's a pretty good mix of players and both lefties and righties and feel like it has a chance to be impactful, ” he added.

While playing for both the Orioles and Phillies, Austin Hays posted a .255 batting average with five home runs, 20 RBIs and a .699 OPS.