Rays could fill outfield vacancy with non-tendered former Orioles All-Star

No, Austin Hays isn't Juan Soto, but for the Rays he might as well be in terms of potential price.

Nonetheless, Hays is worth discussing as an option for the Rays as the team might seek a righty outfielder to platoon in a corner with Josh Lowe.

The 2023 All-Star has been fine for most of his career, hovering around 2 wins per season with a 2.5 WAR peak according to FanGraphs' version of the metric.

The 29-year-old provides quite a bit of value in his hitting against lefties, as the former Oriole has been an above-average hitter throughout his career when facing southpaws.

Unfortunately, Hays is a bit less than serviceable in the outfield defensively, racking up a -3 Outs Above Average mark in left field last year.

Speaking of that issue, the Rays would have to decide how involved they want Christopher Morel and Richie Palacios to be in the corner spots, as Morel has graded out incredibly poor defensively wherever he goes, but that impact could be a bit less important in a corner outfield spot. Meanwhile, Palacios would need a place to play if Brandon Lowe is still on the roster by Opening Day.

Bringing Hays into the fold would give the Rays a plethora of options in the corners for 2025 if they felt comfortable moving Morel moving to right field. Luckily, Morel's arm strength plays pretty well in right field even as he figures out how to improve his range and reactions in the outfield.

As always, the big question is how much Hays would cost the Rays financially, and the answer might be too steep to take on such a limited player, even on a one-year deal.

Hays isn't a backup center field option as his his value lies almost entirely in his ability to hit lefties well, and the Rays might look to invest what little cash they have in positions of higher need, such as catcher or shortstop.

Regardless, like the stadium situation, the Rays have more questions than answers for their 2025 roster. Hopefully the front office will consider a player like Austin Hays to bring a morale boost.