This probably wasn’t the deal that many Phillies fans expected to see.
On Friday, Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies made a move ahead of the deadline – but not a single prospect was traded.
Instead, the Phillies send relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez and center fielder Cristian Pache to another World Series competitor in the Baltimore Orioles.
They will get Austin Hays in return.
The Phillies have acquired OF Austin Hays from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for RHP Seranthony Domínguez and OF Cristian Pache. Hays will wear No. 9.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 26, 2024
Dominguez had a rather disappointing season. After spending several years as a high-leverage guy and one of the keys to the bullpen the last few years, Seranthony has struggled heavily with control issues and holds an ugly 4.75 ERA with a FIP over four. He gave up five earned runs in his last 3.1 innings pitched, so things did not exactly seem to be getting better.
Dominguez was an international free agent signing of the Phillies and has spent all five years of his big league career in Philadelphia.
There is a club option on his contract for $8 million next season, but it’s hard to see any competitive team willing to spend that money for the results they are seeing this year, so the Phillies were likely to decline that anyway.
The Phillies also send Pache, originally acquired by trading away minor league pitcher Billy Sullivan, to Baltimore. He had not been hitting for some time and his slash line is down to .202/.288/.269 on the year. He did have three years of arbitration, but his lack of options made him a guy who had to be in the majors or they likely lose him for nothing.
In return, the Phillies get outfielder Austin Hays. A 2023 All-Star as a center fielder, Hays is not hitting as well as he was last year, but he’s still hitting solidly (.255/.316/.395) and offers decent defense.
Hays provides the Phillies with what they hope is a great platoon partner with the ability to play more if needed. His career against LHP comes out to a pretty impressive .272/.328/.463 slash line and that’s only been more pronounced this year as he is crushing lefties to the tune of .328/.394/.500.
The Phillies likely also value that Hays has another year of arbitration, so he’s under team control for next season.
The move leaves the Phillies with an opening on their 40-man roster and likely in need of acquiring a pitcher or two to fill that hole, so moves should still be expected in the near future.
