Reds Rumblings

[CJD]

(01-28-2025, 02:52 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Nice! They had to land another OF and Hays had been solid prior to last year, with a 2.4 or better WAR from '21-'23. Plus, he instantly makes the OF defense better. 

Yea. The reason I preferred Grichuk is because he was coming off of a better season than Hays, but they are similar across their careers offensively. Both smash LHP and offer above average offense overall. But, as you said, Hays is a better defender with a stronger arm. 

And, even with a down year last year, Hays was still an average hitter with an OPS+ of 101. If that's his floor and he could be as good as his 114, 105 or 107 OPS+ seasons from 2021 to 2023, that's an upgrade across the board for our OF.

If we put him in a straight up platoon with Fraley, that's a career 114 OPS+ against LHP (Hays) and career 113 OPS+ against RHP (Fraley) position.

And Hays, while not ideal vs RHP, has a career 93 OPS+ vs RHP, so he isn't an automatic out when out of his platoon either :).

Overall, a really good signing. I think this turns a decent off season into a good (or maybe even a "very good") off season.