White Sox general manager Chris Getz has said that he expected to be active this offseason, and he returned to the free-agent pool Saturday.
A source confirmed that the Sox are signing outfielder Austin Hays to a one-year deal worth $6 million, plus incentives. Hays, an All-Star in 2023, batted .266/.315/.453 with 15 homers in 103 games with the Reds last season. He also slashed .319/.400/.549 against left-handers.
He brings a veteran presence to a Sox outfield that is largely young and unproven. He has made 406 career starts in left field and 109 in right field. Getz said at the general managers meetings that Andrew Benintendi likely would spend more time as the designated hitter this season.
After trading center fielder Luis Robert Jr., the Sox were thin in the outfield. It’s likely that Luisangel Acuna will get some runway in center, but there weren’t many proven options for manager Will Venable. The Sox also have outfielders Derek Hill, Tristan Peters and Everson Pereira on the 40-man roster, but they all come with warts at the plate, though they have reputations as strong defenders. Hays’ addition takes some of the pressure off the younger outfielders.
“There’s different ways to shape a roster,” Getz said Thursday. “We wanted to improve our defense, so to be able to prioritize that, we wanted players [that are] strong defensively. But on top of that, we know that we’ve got an offensive infrastructure that can [get] more out of some of our hitters.”