Hays aims to regain All-Star form with 'exciting' group in Cincy

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Standing in a Major League batter's box facing 98-mph pitches with heavy movement requires focus, energy and quick decision making. For a stretch late last season while with the Phillies, left fielder Austin Hays had none of the above.

It took a while to figure out why Hays, who had been an All-Star while with the Orioles in 2023, didn't feel right. Then in September, the 29-year-old was finally diagnosed with a kidney infection -- one that was on the verge of becoming a dangerous situation.

“It started with muscle fatigue and soreness in my legs," explained Hays, who signed with the Reds as a free agent this offseason. "It led to a lot of back pain, nerve pains that were going on in my lower back. Then it kind of crept up where my kidneys are in my back and I had kidney pain. I just started getting really tired. My mind wasn’t working right. I’d forget stuff. You wake up after getting plenty of sleep and feel like you didn’t sleep at all. Then I started feeling sick, feverish.”

On Sept. 5, Hays was placed on the injured list and missed three weeks while he recovered.

“I was seeing flutters in my eyes," Hays said. “It’s not ideal to experience moving slower, low energy and feel very fatigued on the field. It’s not a good recipe for playing well for the team.”

Hays, who the Phillies acquired from the Orioles on July 26, had already been on the IL twice last season. A left calf strain had him out from April 21-May 13, then -- while with Philadelphia -- he strained his left hamstring in early August. Overall in 85 games combined for both clubs, he batted .255 with a .699 OPS, five home runs and 20 RBIs.

As the infection set in, Hays thought he wasn't feeling good because of normal late-season wear-and-tear.

“We figured out it was a kidney infection in September but there was no way to look back and see when I had it or for how long I had it," he said.

Upon returning, Hays didn't regain his form for the Phillies as he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Games 2 and 3 of the National League Division Series against the Mets. He was benched for Game 4 as the Mets advanced.

Philadelphia non-tendered Hays after the season, making him a free agent. On Jan. 30, he signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Reds with an additional $1 million in incentives. The deal was finalized after a physical, which the club spent extra time looking at the results to make sure the kidney infection was fully behind him.

“I just want to be myself in a uniform again," Hays said. “I just want to prove I am myself and back to who I can be on the field, the level of effort I can play with. I felt unable to get there when I was playing through the stuff I went through last year. Just the energy I play with, I felt so low. I was doing all I could do to get through games. I had always been a high-energy player. That’s how I play the game.”

That showed in 2023, when Hays was an All-Star and batted .275 with a .769 OPS, 16 homers and 67 RBIs in 144 games. The right-handed hitter's career high for home runs is 22, which he set in 2021. Now, he is looking to regain that level of production.

“I feel like myself -- mentally, physically, my size, my strength," Hays said. "I was able to have a pretty normal offseason after I rested. I was able to get my body back into shape. It took a little longer than normal because I was in worse shape than normal at the end of the year.”

With the Reds, Hays senses a feeling that he also had with the Orioles.

“They feel like they’re turning a corner and they really have a chance to win," he said. "It’s an exciting time here. It definitely excites me to be a part of that. It’s where Baltimore was a couple of years ago. I remember that feeling of coming to Spring Training after we finally had a season where we didn’t lose 100 games, and we were so close. We’re like, ‘Yeah, we really have the make-up now.’ It feels similar here. Everybody is confident in what the team can do."

Hays has shown full effort and has looked good during workouts this spring.

"I think he feels like he has a lot to prove. Go ahead, we’ll be thrilled to let him do that," Reds manager Terry Francona said.