Austin Hays explains why Reds reunion fell apart and he picked the White Sox instead

Former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Austin Hays was one of the most sought-after free agents this winter. That might seem surprising to some. While he was an All-Star in 2023, Hays has been more of a role player throughout his eight years in the majors.

The New York Yankees and New York Mets considered the 30-year-old outfielder, both as a Cody Bellinger backup plan and as a right-handed bench piece. With a .949 OPS against southpaws last season, and an .819 mark for his career, several other teams sniffed around him with the idea of making him part of a platoon.

The Reds, of course, could have prevented this from ever happening. They held a $12 million option for Hays, but with a tight budget, felt that was too high a price to pay. It's hard to argue with that position, considering he only got half of that in his deal with the Chicago White Sox.

However, just because Cincinnati declined his option doesn't mean that they didn't want him back. Seeing him sign for such a paltry sum when the Reds desperately needed offense stung. However, there was one very pertinent reason why he spurned the Reds' advances for a job with the lowly White Sox.

Austin Hays chose the White Sox over the Reds because of the chance to play every day

To understand why Hays chose the White Sox, one has to first understand how he wound up in Cincinnati in the first place. His 2024 season was marred by injuries, ranging from hamstring issues to a dangerous kidney infection that manifested itself with strange and brutal symptoms.

As a result, he played just 85 games and produced one of the worst offensive seasons of his career; batting .255/.303/.396. Going to Cincy was about getting an opportunity to get healthy and prove his bat could bounce back.

So, as Hays explained during an appearance on the Chicago Sports Network, now that he's coming off a much more potent .266/.315/.453 performance and has proven that his health has returned, he was looking for an everyday opportunity.

"Last year I was able to get my health back and re-establish myself, after really feeling like I had a lost year. So, going back into free agency, I really wanted to go somewhere where I would have an opportunity to do that, to play every day," Hays said. "Get back to being able to play both sides of the ball, play defense every day, as well. And there's a tremendous opportunity, with Chicago, to be able to do that. I got a lot to give, and I'm going to be able to give that here with this team."

It's not an unfair statement. Hays wasn't always given the opportunity to go up against right-handed pitching last season, but when he did, he held his own with a .708 OPS. For his career, he's been serviceable against righties as well, posting a .717 mark.

The Reds, and many other teams that were chasing him, were not going to give him the opportunity to start every day, and still in the prime of his career, that truly matters. So, while last season was about proving he was healthy, Hays is now playing with something to prove again.

He'll be with the White Sox and starting consistently, and with just a mutual option for 2027, he'll be able to re-enter the market again after re-establishing himself as a starting-caliber outfielder rather than just a platoon specialist.

Should he succeed, many more lucrative opportunities will present themselves. Had he simply returned to Cincy (or signed elsewhere), he'd risk pigeon-holing himself as nothing more than a lefty-masher for the rest of his career.