{"id":557474,"date":"2026-02-06T08:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/557474\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T08:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:17:21","slug":"how-chicago-white-sox-plan-to-use-new-outfielder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/557474\/","title":{"rendered":"How Chicago White Sox plan to use new outfielder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Outfielder Austin Hays used the word \u201copportunity\u201d to describe what made the Chicago White Sox an attractive option during free agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 30 years old, coming off a strong season last year, unfortunately I had the kidney infection the year before and wasn\u2019t able to play as much as I would\u2019ve wanted to,\u201d Hays said during a videoconference call Thursday. \u201cLast year I was able to get my health back and reestablish myself after feeling like I had a lost year.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo going back into free agency I really wanted to go somewhere where I would have an opportunity to do that. Play every day. Get back to being able to play both sides of the ball. Play defense every day as well. There\u2019s a tremendous opportunity with Chicago to be able to do that. I\u2019ve got a lot to give, and I\u2019m going to be able to give that here with this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hays and the Sox officially agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have that offensive force, especially against left-handed pitching, Hays is a name that (manager) Will (Venable) is going to enjoy having in that lineup,\u201d general manager Chris Getz said during the videoconference call. \u201cHe had some health setbacks and perhaps now that the health stuff is behind him, his body is feeling really good, we can tap back into him being the All-Star he was in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the enticing part of bringing in Austin Hays, let alone the individual, the quality of, the high character, makeup, that we wanted to also bring into our clubhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under terms of the agreement, Hays will receive $5 million in 2026, with an $8 million mutual option for 2027 or $1 million buyout. To make room for Hays on the 40-man roster, the Sox designated left-handed pitcher Bryan Hudson for assignment.<\/p>\n

Reports of the signing<\/a> first surfaced on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Hays has a career .262\/.313\/.435 slash line with 142 doubles, 83 home runs, 312 RBIs and 337 runs in 682 games over eight major-league seasons with the Baltimore Orioles (2017, 2019-24), Philadelphia Phillies (2024) and Cincinnati Reds (2025). He has a .282\/.340\/.479 career slash line (207-for-733) against left-handers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe mashes lefties,\u201d Getz said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not that he can\u2019t handle righties either. It\u2019s just it really jumped out to us the ability to hit left-handed pitching. When he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s locked in and he\u2019s got a relationship with (Sox director of hitting) Ryan Fuller<\/a> from his Baltimore days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PhilliesPhillies outfielder Austin Hays slides safely into second on a double against the Yankees on July 31, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Chris Szagola\/AP)<\/p>\n

Hays earned an All-Star honor with the Orioles in 2023, finishing that season with a .275\/.325\/.444\u00a0 slash line, 36 doubles, 16 home runs, 67 RBIs and 76 runs in 144 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Fuller,\u201d Hays said. \u201cHad a great relationship with him in Baltimore (where Fuller was the co-hitting coach). We made a couple of swing adjustments that I really felt helped me make the All-Star team in 2023. I\u2019ve been through the trenches with him. He\u2019s helped me through a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hays comes to the Sox ready to help at any outfield spot. The Sox plan on largely utilizing him in right or left field. There is an opening in right field, while left fielder Andrew Benintendi<\/a> is the most-experienced returning outfielder on the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a guy who can play pretty good defense on both wings, so a lot of it is going to be dependent on how Will wants to put together a lineup,\u201d Getz said. \u201cAre we going to be more defensive focused (or) more offense today? The optimal lineup. It\u2019s tough to tell if it\u2019s going to be just left field or right field or which one he finds more playing time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getz later said of Benintendi: \u201cWe still really like Benintendi, the left-handed bat. He\u2019s hit 20-plus home runs the last two years. And he\u2019s a guy that you feel good about in the lineup. What has held him back are his legs. Being able to cover ground like he used to. I know he feels good athletically right now. And that\u2019s going to be what really dictates the amount of outfield play that he\u2019ll get.\u201d<\/p>\n

After being limited to 85 games in 2024, Hays looks to build on some of his 2025 production \u2014 when he slashed .266\/.315\/.453 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs and 64 RBIs in 103 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to dig deep going through what I went through with the kidney infection,\u201d Hays said. \u201cThat was a really tough year in 2024. Last year it was a very rewarding season for me. We made the playoffs and we won a lot of games. It was a really fun season. I dealt with some stuff in the beginning of the year, a little lasting effects of the kidney infection. Once I really got going, it was a great year. I felt really good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year I feel like I\u2019m way ahead of where I was starting out last year. Being able to finish the year healthy and really just feel like myself mentally and physically, being all the way back now, I\u2019m really excited for this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Outfielder Austin Hays used the word \u201copportunity\u201d to describe what made the Chicago White Sox an attractive option…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1000,124,5,49,4071,4,4070],"class_list":{"0":"post-557474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-andrew-benintendi","9":"tag-austin-hays","10":"tag-baseball","11":"tag-chicago-white-sox","12":"tag-chris-getz","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-ryan-fuller"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116022703428732453","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}