The White Sox have agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with veteran outfielder Austin Hays that includes an $8 mutual option for 2027 or a $1 million buyout, the club announced on Wednesday. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, Chicago designated for assignment left-hander Bryan Hudson.
Hays missed 59 games with multiple injuries in 2025, but when he was healthy, he displayed the hitting capability that earned him an All-Star nod in 2023. His .768 OPS ranked second among Reds with at least 200 plate appearances, and Hays reached 15 home runs for the fourth time in five seasons. The White Sox picked up on their early interest in Hays after trading Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets.
“We have been talking to Hays for a little bit now,” said general manager Chris Getz during a Thursday Zoom. “We knew that with [Austin] Slater and [Mike] Tauchman and [Michael] Taylor not coming back … we felt there was an opportunity for a veteran type of bat, and the outfield was the obvious one especially after moving Luis. … But we had interest in Hays from the jump.”
“We'll see when we get into Spring Training and what the team needs me to do,” said Hays during the same Zoom of his specific outfield role. “I've always said I'll play wherever I can so that my name is on the lineup card. I'll be ready for anything. I'm comfortable in all three positions in the outfield. So whatever they need me to do, wherever they need me, that's where I'll be.”
The 30-year-old outfielder started the 2025 season with 12 hits in his first 28 at-bats and was batting over .300 as late as June 27; he also carried a .500 slugging percentage into the final week of July.
Hays got to those numbers by feasting on fastballs, batting .337 with a .709 slugging percentage in 95 plate appearances that ended with four-seamers. Against sinkers, Hays batted .353 with a .632 slugging percentage in 71 plate appearances. He was worth nine runs against those two pitches but minus-7 against all others, without a .400 slugging percentage against any of them.
Hays had particular trouble against sliders, sweepers and curveballs, striking out in nearly one-third of the plate appearances that ended in those pitches. Still, he brings success against fastballs and a cannon of a right arm that ranks in the 88th percentile in arm strength.
Hays’ career .819 OPS against left-handed pitchers was central to the White Sox interest in him. It’s especially true with highly accomplished southpaws Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez soon to be sitting atop the Tigers’ rotation within the American League Central.
“He mashes lefties. He does. And it’s not that he can’t handle righties, either,” Getz said. “He’s had some health issues the last couple of years, so really, it’s how his body is responding, but we feel like the White Sox will benefit when he’s in the lineup.”
Hays has appeared in the postseason in each of the last three years with three different teams. His pedigree includes three seasons in which he qualified for the batting title and posted an OPS+ of at least 105. He hit 35 doubles for the Orioles in 2022 and 36 a year later.
His biggest obstacle as he plays deeper into his 30s is his health, as mentioned by Getz -- his 103 games in 2025 came after he played 85 in 2024, battling multiple maladies that included injuries to his calf and hamstring, as well as a kidney infection. When healthy, Hays has shown he can contribute to a winning club in multiple ways.
“This year I feel like I'm way ahead of where I was starting out last year,” Hays said. “Being able to finish the year healthy and really just feel like myself mentally and physically, being all the way back now, I'm really excited for this year."