New Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Austin Hays already seems to like his new gig even better than his old one.
The Phillies announced on Friday that the team had acquired Hays in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles.
Later in the day, Hays spoke to a slew of Phillies reporters about moving from the AL East division leader to the team atop the NL East. Hays said that he felt like he was “upgrading” and that his new team gives him a “better chance” of winning a World Series.
“There’s not very many teams you could feel like you’re upgrading, in a way, from where you were when your team was in first place. That’s how I feel. I feel like I’m coming into a place where we have an even better chance of winning a World Series,” said Hays.
Austin Hays on joining the Phillies: “To go from one first-place team to another, that’s probably everything you could ask for as a player.” pic.twitter.com/GgsIGuxoiA
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) July 27, 2024
The Orioles and Phillies are two out of just five MLB teams with 60 or more wins through Friday’s slate of games. Not much separates the two squads based on the standings.
However, the Orioles do face much stiffer competition for the division title with the New York Yankees just a few games behind them. The Boston Red Sox are also just a winning streak away from creeping back into the AL East title race.
The Phillies, on the other hand, are ahead of the second-place New York Mets with a commanding nine-game lead through Friday. Just based on where the teams are in the standings, Hays’ sentiments indeed ring true, at least from a mathematical standpoint.
Through 63 games for the Orioles this season, Hays has batted .255 with three home runs and 14 RBIs with a career-low OPS of .711.
Hays earned his first and only All-Star nod last season when he had a batting average of .275 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs across 144 contests.
