Phillies Get Former All Star Austin Hays From Orioles For Seranthony Dominguez

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Phillies and Orioles exchanged veteran players Friday in a rare trade deadline deal between World Series favorites exchanging quality, everyday contributors.

Longtime Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez and backup outfield Cristian Pache are headed to Baltimore in exchange for outfielder Austin Hays, a 2023 All Star, the two clubs announced.

The 28-year-old Hays is a rental, as he will be a free agent at the end of the year. He's a right-handed bat with top-prospect pedigree who has flashed a powerful bat at times. He has a career .747 OPS over parts of seven seasons in Baltimore, including a career year in 2023 in which he hit 16 home runs.

Most of his experience is in left field, and it seems likely he will either platoon with Brandon Marsh when Johan Rojas is in center, or play left while Marsh mans center. He'll likely take the slot that is currently filled by Weston Wilson, and has been alternately handled by David Dahl, Pache, and Whit Merrifield for most of the 2024 season.

Hays's overall numbers are slightly down this year, as he has a .711 OPS over parts of just 63 games. Baltimore has a deep outfield corps and it made sense to trade from that depth to bolster their bullpen with Dominguez, who himself has flashed All Star form in Philadelphia but has struggled this year. Dominguez may benefit from a change of scenery in Baltimore.

Perhaps most relevantly, the decision to deal Dominguez almost assuredly signals an intention on the Phillies part to make a bigger trade to add to their own relief corps. The team has identified the bullpen as a spot of need heading into the July 31 trade deadline, particularly after relievers allowed eight runs over 7 innings while dropping two of three games in the recent set against the Twins in Minnesota.

Angels closer Carlos Estevez, Marlins closer Tanner Scott, and Nationals reliever Kyle Finnegan are among the high end names that have been linked in rumors to Philadelphia.

Dominguez has been in the Phillies organization for 13 years after signing as a teenage international free agent in 2011. At his best, he was among the most dominant relievers in the game, and provided key contributions to the Phillies in their playoff runs the past two autumns. He has struggled slightly in 2024, though his strikeout numbers remain high and he has continued to flash swing and miss stuff when he's on.