New Sox outfielder Hays looking to help another young team win

A year ago, the Cincinnati Reds signed outfielder Austin Hays to be a veteran presence who could help teach a young team how to win.

And it worked. The Reds made the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 2013. Can he do the same thing with the White Sox?

It's definitely a taller task on the South Side, since this is a team with three straight 100-loss seasons. But Hays is ready to do his part after signing a one-year deal worth a reported $6 million and a mutual option for 2027.

“I've got a lot to give and I'm going to be able to give that here,” Hays said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “It's a young, exciting team.”

The idea is Hays brings a right-handed bat to pair with the left-handed Andrew Benintendi. Both figure to be everyday players when healthy.

“He mashes lefties,” general manager Chris Getz said of Hays. “It's not that he can't handle righties, either. It just really jumped out to us, the ability to hit left-handed pitching. When he's healthy, he's locked in.”

Over his career, Hays has an .819 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Hays and Benintendi are both 30 years old and have produced similar numbers over the years, with 15-20 home runs and roughly 60 RBI.

Hays was an all-star with Baltimore in 2023. He said he considers 2024 kind of a lost season because he was slowed by a kidney infection. Last year in Cincinnati, his numbers were similar to 2023.

“Last year, I was able to get my health back and reestablish myself,” Hays said. “So going back into free agency, I really wanted to go somewhere where I would have an opportunity to play every day; play defense every day as well. And there's a tremendous opportunity with Chicago to be able to do that.”

It helped that Hays has a history with White Sox hitting coordinator Ryan Fuller in Baltimore. He credited Fuller for contributing to his successful '23 season.

“I've talked to some guys I played with in the past and they said they've got a really good thing going over here,” Hays said. “They really liked the staff. They really liked the gel of the clubhouse and the guys.

“So I think they're starting to turn a corner. I think it's going to be a young, fun team.”