Phillies 'Extremely Optimistic' About Austin Hays Ahead of NLDS

Austin Hays is expected to be good to go for the Phillies when the NLDS begins on Saturday.

Since being acquired by the Phillies from the Baltimore Orioles in late July, Hays has spent two stints on the injured list with a left hamstring strain and a kidney infection. Hays then missed the final two games of the regular season this past weekend in Washington as he dealt with some back soreness. 

But it appears the outfielder will be all systems go for the postseason. 

"Very much so," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday when asked if the Phillies are optimistic Hays will be ready for the NLDS. 

"I just saw him in there, said he felt great," Dombrowski continued. "He saw the doctor again yesterday, so I asked how he felt. He said he felt 100%, so I’m extremely optimistic."

As for Hays himself, he was in good spirits when asked how is back was feeling Tuesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. 

"Good," Hays said. "We had to rush a little bit just to make sure I got back, got ABs [at-bats] and got in games. That was a good reset there. Then we got the five-day break to get refreshed and ready to go." 

Exactly how the Phillies will use Hays in the postseason is unclear. He didn't show a ton offensively in the 22 games he played for the Phillies, hitting .256 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs. But that's a very small sample size and it's fair to assume he wasn't at 100% for a chunk of it. 

Both when the Phillies acquired him from Baltimore and after Hays initially came off the IL from his hamstring injury, he was given runway to try to be the starting left fielder. In the postseason, who starts in left and center field might change game-by-game based upon matchups and who is hot. 

Austin Hays on the difference in preparation between the #Phillies and #Orioles (O's had the bye last year).

"I think we're gonna do a more realistic game here. We got some competitive stuff going on around the clubhouse between the teams.

"I think that's gonna be really good…

— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) October 1, 2024

Dombrowski deferred to Rob Thomson — who won't speak until after Wednesday's simulated game — on lineup construction. But he did perhaps give a hint on Hays' usage. 

"We really believe [Hays] can hit left-handed pitching," Dombrowski said. "And so, dependent upon who we play and who we face, that will be an extremely important part of our ballclub." 

Perhaps against right-handed pitchers, the Phillies will go with a defensive-centric approach with Johan Rojas in center field and Brandon Marsh in left field. And then against left-handed pitchers, Hays will be in left field, with either Rojas or Marsh in center field. 

There's a real possibility that whoever is starting in center and left field won't finish the game there, as Weston Wilson and Kody Clemens could both be looming on the bench as pinch-hit options if the Phillies do indeed carry 14 hitters and 12 pitchers in the NLDS, which they are leaning towards doing. 

We'll find out starting Saturday.