The Orioles made two trades Friday. The second wasn’t surprising. The first was.
A few hours before the Orioles acquired starting pitcher Zach Eflin , they shipped left fielder Austin Hays — an All-Star in 2023 and a team leader since the rebuild — to the Philadelphia Phillies for right-handed reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache, the club announced.
The Hays trade was the first domino to fall for the Orioles. Adding Eflin from the Tampa Bay Rays was the second, and perhaps more will topple over ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline as Baltimore could still be in the market for pitching.
The deal with Philadelphia was an unconventional one given it featured a swap of major league talent between the MLB-best Phillies (64-38) and the American League-best Orioles (61-41).
Trades by Baltimore were mostly expected to include players from its top-tier farm system going toward acquiring major leaguers, but the Phillies and Orioles made natural partners given their respective roster constructions. Philadelphia had a surplus of relievers but needed an additional outfielder, while Baltimore had too many outfielders and a hollow bullpen.
“He’s a true pro,” manager Brandon Hyde said of Hays. “They’re getting a special guy. A tough day, but we’re excited about the two guys we’re getting and wish Austin well.”
Hays, 29, has seen his playing time in Baltimore diminish from a near-everyday player in previous seasons to a platoon role in 2024. He began the season slow , landed on the injured list and returned to find himself mostly starting against left-handed pitchers. The left fielder is hitting .255 with a .711 OPS this season. He is entering his final year of arbitration in 2025 before hitting free agency next offseason.
While parting ways with Hays was a surprise, his increasing salary through arbitration, his diminished play this year and Baltimore’s youth movement with top prospects starting to fill out its roster were all factors that made it likely 2024 was his last year in Charm City. Hays played 557 games in Orioles orange, but his 558th will be in Phillies red.
“Man, it’s tough,” veteran catcher James McCann said of losing Hays. “That’s the side of this business that a lot of fans don’t understand, a lot of people that aren’t in the clubhouse don’t quite understand from the standpoint that Haysey’s like a brother. … Obviously, that’s a business decision, and we hope the best for Haysey and his new home. And we hope that our additions help us move forward and help succeed out goals, too.”
Domínguez, one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball with a high-90s mph fastball, has a 4.75 ERA this season. The Orioles could keep the 29-year-old next season if they accept his $8 million team option.
While his ERA is far from spectacular, his peripherals are much better and could explain why the Orioles have interest in the Dominican Republic native. His 26% strikeout rate is above average and now makes him one of the best swing-and-miss pitchers in Baltimore’s bullpen. In addition to his 97.5 mph four-seam fastball and sinker, he has a sharp slider that grades out as his best pitch. Opposing hitters are batting only .143 against it this season. He’s also been better recently, posting a 2.81 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 28 strikeouts and nine walks over his past 25 2/3 innings after a rough April.
“Faced him numerous times in spring training and the regular season,” McCann said of Domínguez. “I know that I’m looking forward to getting to catch him and not have to hit.”
Domínguez, who debuted with the Phillies in 2018, has a career 3.55 ERA in 220 2/3 innings with far better results versus right-handed batters (.551 OPS) than lefties (.752 OPS). He also has extensive playoff experience, posting a 1.13 ERA in 16 postseason innings with 25 strikeouts and only four walks.
Hyde said he’s not sure what role Domínguez, who has been both a closer and a setup man in the past, will serve in Baltimore’s bullpen.
“I do know that we’re getting a guy that has an exceptional arm,” Hyde said. “He’s pitched in high-level moments in postseasons. … We saw earlier this year, it’s an electric fastball and a really good slider. He’s had his up and down moments this season, but he’s somebody that we’re hoping can fit in in the back of our bullpen.”
Pache (pronounced PAH-chay) is mostly a center fielder and has a paltry .515 career OPS. The 25-year-old is under team control through 2027 but has no minor league options remaining.
In corresponding moves, the Orioles designated reliever Vinny Nittoli for assignment to make room for Domínguez on their 26-man roster and did the same with minor league right-hander Levi Stoudt to create space on the 40-man. Domínguez and Pache both reported to the Orioles before Friday’s game.
A right-handed hitter with a career .242 batting average and .698 OPS against lefties, Pache could fill in for Hays, who was hitting .328 with an .894 OPS against southpaws this season. But Pache can reliably play center field while Hays is mostly a corner outfielder. That means, in addition to getting a bullpen piece in the trade, the Orioles’ lineups versus lefties could get an upgrade defensively but a downgrade offensively.
Pache, also a Dominican Republic native, could serve as a defensive replacement and a pinch runner off the bench. He’s a plus defender with 12 career defensive runs saved and four outs above average this year, according to Baseball Savant. Statcast rates his arm strength in the 91st percentile and his sprint speed in the 79th percentile.
“Pache is an elite defender,” Hyde said. “One of the best outfielders defensively. We’ve seen him quite a bit. He can go play the outfield, go play three spots. So he covers us there in the outfield.”
Trading away Hays likely means more playing time for the Orioles’ trio of left-handed hitting outfielders that have been in part-time roles recently: Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad. The absence of Hays does leave a hole against left-handed starters, against which Mullins and Kjerstad have rarely played recently. Now, it means two of those outfielders could receive everyday at-bats.
Cowser said he was “surprised” by the trade, but the AL Rookie of the Year candidate acknowledged the sport is a “business.”
“Ultimately as a clubhouse we have full trust in our front office and what they ultimately decide to do is up to them,” he said. “We’re just gonna go out there and play our ball.”
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters Friday he attempted to acquire Hays at each of the previous two deadlines.
“[The Orioles] have been asking for a lot more than we wanted to give,” Dombrowski said of his first two attempts to pry Hays away from Elias. “He’s a good hitter. I know he hasn’t played all that much this year. He’s got squeezed out, we feel, in a little bit of playing time with all the good young outfielders they have, a lot of them left-handed hitting.
“When we’ve seen him, we’ve liked him. He can hit. He’s a gamer, can play left field well and we’re looking for a little bit better at-bat from the right-hand side and he fits that.”
Hays was drafted in 2016 and debuted in 2017 during the Orioles’ previous competitive window under manager Buck Showalter. Hays, along with outfielders Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander, survived the rebuild and emerged on the other side as key parts of a club that’s been one of the majors’ best over the past two calendar years.
“It’s one of those guys that was still here from that original ’19 team, so someone I’ve been with the entire time we’ve been together,” Hyde said. “For me, he played so hard for all the years here in front of the fans and how he went about his business on a daily basis I have so much respect for.”
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