Bleacher Report links former Orioles and Phillies outfielder to Pirates in free agency

Spring training is just over a month away, and the Pittsburgh Pirates still have a gaping hole in right field. One by one, each of the remotely exciting options to fill the position have been plucked off of the free agent market, leaving the Pirates scrambling for a solution (though, if there has been any sense of urgency from this front office to address right field, we certainly haven't seen it).

Pittsburgh's primary in-house options to fill the void in right field are Jack Suwinski and Joshua Palacios. The former is coming off a horrific 2024 performance that saw him bat .182 before being banished to Triple-A Indianapolis, and the latter is 29 years old and has never played more than 91 games in a single Major League season; last year, injuries and poor performance limited him to just 23 games.

Suwinski and Palacios were also the leading options at right field at the 2024 trade deadline, and yet, the Pirates opted to trade for Bryan De La Cruz. Obviously, that trade didn't work out, but the point remains that the Pirates clearly weren't satisfied with their internal options at the position last season, and there's no reason to believe they've had a change of heart since then.

Bleacher Report links former Orioles and Phillies outfielder Austin Hays to Pirates in free agency

While limited options remain on the free agent market, the Pirates still have a chance to upgrade their outfield, and Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter proposed former Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Austin Hays as a potential fit.

"Adding a corner outfielder should still be on the to-do list," Reuter wrote. "Austin Hays was an All-Star in 2023 and looks like a great buy-low target who could be available for less than the one-year, $10 million deal that Max Kepler signed with the Phillies."

The Phillies non-tendered Hays this offseason before they signed Kepler, so it would be incredibly on-brand for the Pirates – who had previously been linked to Kepler – to end up with with the guy that Kepler replaced in Philly. Still, Hays isn't a bad option, and he would certainly be an upgrade over Suwinski or Palacios (even though that's not saying much).

Hays, 29, had three good seasons with the Orioles from 2021-23, slashing .261/.313/.439 and averaging 18 home runs and 66 RBI per season in that stretch. He was an All-Star for the Orioles in 2023, when he hit 16 home runs, drove in 67 runs and batted .275/.325/.444.

Hays' numbers declined sharply in 2024, when he slashed .255/.303/.396 with 5 home runs and 20 RBI across 85 games. He missed significant time with a strained hamstring, kidney infection and back injury and was ultimately traded to the Phillies ahead of the trade deadline for right-handed pitcher Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache.

MLB Trade Rumors projected Hays to earn $6.4 million in arbitration before he was non-tendered, so he should certainly come at an affordable price. If the Pirates are willing to take a flyer on Hays and sign him to a one-year deal in the hopes that he stays healthy and returns to his 2023 form, he could turn out to be exactly what they need in right field.

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