The Mets have interest in free agent outfielder Austin Hays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Hays was previously connected to the Royals but that was before Kansas City signed Lane Thomas and acquired Isaac Collins. They are reportedly still exploring the outfield market but might have less urgency in that pursuit now.
For the Mets, adding to the outfield seems like an inevitability. They had nine players take more than one plate appearance as an outfielder in 2025. Seven of them are gone. Cedric Mullins, Starling Marte, Jesse Winker, Jose Siri and José Azócar became free agents at season’s end. This offseason, Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Rangers and Jeff McNeil to the Athletics.
That leaves the Mets with Juan Soto and Tyrone Taylor as holdovers. Soto is obviously part of the plans in 2026 but Taylor should be on shakier ground. Taylor has a decent floor from his speed and his defense but he has had subpar offense for three years running now, including a .223/.279/.319 line and 70 wRC+ in 2025.
The Mets have already avoided arbitration with Taylor, signing him for $3.8MM in 2026. Despite that commitment, he would ideally be bumped into a bench role.
It’s possible that prospect Carson Benge eventually takes the center field job from Taylor. President of baseball operations David Stearns has said Benge will get a chance to earn a job out of camp. Benge can play all three outfield spots but the Mets presumably want to give him a chance to stick in center, where he would have more value.
Hays wouldn’t be the best available option for filling that spot, especially with Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger still on the open market, but he has a decent track record.
He has generally been good for offense a bit above average. He has a .262/.313/.435 line in his career, which translates to a 105 wRC+. His 2025 season was in line with that, as he hit .266/.315/.453, also for a 105 wRC+.
He has been graded as a good defender in his career but less so in the past two seasons. He’s been slapped with a minus-10 grade from Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-2 from Outs Above Average dating back to the start of 2024. He’s also had a few injury challenges and hasn’t been able to get beyond 103 games played in those two seasons.
Hays has his attributes but is a better fit as a complementary player than a full-time solution. He swings from the right side and has been a subpar hitter against righty pitchers in his career. However, he has a .282/.340/.479 line and 124 wRC+ with the platoon advantage. The split was even more extreme in 2025, with Hays batting .319/.400/.549 for a 155 wRC+ against southpaws.
An outfielder who can crush lefties is still worth something. The Mariners just gave Rob Refsnyder $6.25MM for a similar profile.
Benge is a lefty and he showed notable splits in the minors this year, with a .232/.407/.326 line against lefties compared to a .295/.379/.512 line against righties.
The Mets have also been frequently connected to Luis Robert Jr. in rumors. He has flashed a borderline MVP upside but has been fairly Hays-ian in the past two years. He has struggled to stay on the field and provided subpar offense but with big numbers against lefties.
Robert is going to earn $20MM next year and would require the Mets to send prospects to the White Sox in return. Chicago might be willing to eat some of the money but that would only increase their demands in the prospect department.
Perhaps the Mets view Hays as a more affordable alternative to Robert. Hays hasn’t played center since 2023 but did so fairly regularly before his mounting injuries in recent seasons. Perhaps a short-side platoon role would help him stay healthy and maximize his contributions.
That could bump Taylor down into a fifth outfielder role where he could be used as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. Taylor is also a righty swinger but has fairly even splits in his career, making him less of a fit as a platoon guy.
Even if Hays is brought aboard, that shouldn’t finish the club’s work in the outfield. They’ve been connected to Bellinger and are a logical fit for Tucker. They’ve also reportedly shown interest in trade candidates such as Lars Nootbaar and Ramón Laureano. They presumably have interest in a number of other outfielders even if they haven’t been connected to them publicly.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
Stop-gap
Like the whole roster, sans Soto?
@Ohora… if thats how u see it then thats how it shall be in ur head.
Ur?
Couldn’t agree more. This roster only has 2 players(Lindor & Soto) that should start the season batting in the 1-4 spots in the lineup. Still missing 2 bats to fill the top of the lineup and we’re talking about a potential platoon OFer? It’s ridiculous. Hayes is a fine player when adding to an already good team, but this roster is terrible top to bottom in terms of run production. If they got Hayes and signed say, Bellinger, this offense would still be trash.
The Mutts are goin for it!
Lol the cucks are out tonight
Poor, broke old uncle Steve, shopping in the bargain bin. Imagine paying Soto 760 mil just to turn into a cheapskate everywhere else.
Is it Cohen though or Stearns? Seems like Stearns is trying to run the Mets like they’re the Brewers.
It’s always the owner. Cohen could easily tell Stearns to offer 10/450 or something.
In some cases it could also be player avoiding teams with certain owners
You blame owners for being cheap. But maybe players dont want to go to a certain team. Thats not on the owner.
@D… imagine buying an Allstar for every position just to turnaround around and knock the owner for buying a championship
Then imagine knocking the owner for spending money wisely (being cheap)
I’ms a thinking ur negativity would be spewed no matter what. 😉
I know the Dodgers have warped peoples’ perceptions and expectations, but not all 26 guys on a roster can be an All Star/HOF-track player.
Austin Hays is a perfectly solid complimentary player and probably something close to 2/3 of the league would be better off having him in their outfield mix. Hays will probably be more valuable than Jeff McNeil next year, so if that’s how they use the $10 million they’ll no longer be paying McNeil that would not only be a pretty shrewd move, but also one that in no way precludes them from continuing to pursue a bigger bat like Tucker, Bregman, or Bellinger.
@DirtyWater04…
You make sense, some around here don’t know much about sense.
You nailed it when you said that Austin Hays is a perfectly solid complimentary player, and to me thats exactly what the issue is. This team doesnt need any more complimentary players. Polanco was batting what, 7th for Seattle? And now hes going to be what, our #3? It’s ridiculous, this team still has nobody to bat in the 3 & 4 spot in our lineup and now were talking about Hayes?!?!? It’s alarming as this team still needs major help in terms of offense and Hayes is nothing but complimentary. Taylor is already our 4th OFer and we need another part time player to make us better? if this team was already good, than adding Hayes is great, but it seems like they’re looking into using him in more than a complimentary role, and thats a problem. We dont need 2 4th OFers.
Erik may want to “transform” his word selection
Complimentary (with an ‘i’) means praising someone or something is given for free (like a free drink), while complementary (with an ‘e’) means two things complete or go well together, like a perfect pair of colors.
I am sure Austin Hays is a friendly dude, but I think you meant complementary. Now if Hays is complimentary as in free, Nutting is on line one.
“Transformers” have nothing to do with my name, its not Megatron, its megaton, since were splitting hairs here.
Also, I copy/pasted the original sentence from the person I was replying to, not to mention with just the most slight brain power I’m sure anybody can understand what’s meant here. I’m sure you’re fun at parties, correcting strangers while ignoring context.
Original post-
“Austin Hays is a perfectly solid complimentary player and probably something close to 2/3 of the league would be better off having him in their outfield mix.”
I will concede that I misread Megaton as Megatron.
I’ll stick by the rest, but wish you Happy Holidays.
why do you need to be “interested” in a 4th outfielder?
Just go sign him? call his agent and offer the going rate for that caliber of player. He’s a 4th OF.
just pick up the phone and sign him? I don’t understand.
“interest” is for players at the top of the market
Because he has been and likely continues to envision himself being a full time player? If he expects to find a starting job somewhere he has no reason at all to jump at an offer to be a 4th outfielder. The player has to also be “interested” in what the team is “interested” in offering him.
You don’t know if they’re offering him a 4th OF position or not. You respond as if you know that as fact and you don’t
They already have a 4th outfielder in Taylor. Hays would be starting for them in left.
NYM front office has been good at not leaking. To the consternation of NY BB media (see: Heyman). But Stearns resistance to hand out longer deals appears to be accurate. Boras likely unamused by it
That signing would not quell the anger of the fan base at all.
Tyrod Taylor always the backup option
Tyrone?
If im him wouldnt i rather play in a big market than a small after thought market? But then again, its the Mets.
Let’s make stopgap, injury-prone OF “Great Again”.
Original Rude boy on the scene
Probably means they are out of the running for Luis Robert
Stearns is like Elias who thinks sellers are dopes that will agree to lowball offers….and that leaking to press interest in others will make them shake.
“Sellers are dopes”…Yes. Stearns has taken teams to the playoffs probably a half dozen+ times and yet knows nothing about running a baseball team.
All the real baseball management “knowledge” is down here in the MLBTRADERUMORS.COM comments section, right?
Brewers miss him big time. Finishing few games over .500 and missing playoffs with an insane payroll is also quite a feat.
Why do very few leaks ever happen then?
What are you expecting to get for an injury prone player making $20 million a year that has had 1 good season? Asking as a Reds fan.
Like Elias? The Elias FO doesn’t leak. At all. Fail.
They could get Isaac for a song.
I’d like the Cards to sign him.
Hays is just the kind of player I think Stearns will sign.
Platoons are cheaper than stars and can be signed for shorter terms.
Why doesn’t Ryan Clifford get mentioned as a possible corner OF, though?
Benge and Clifford are both top prospects, bat lefty, and add power. Clifford is only 6 months younger than Benge and their Fangraphs projection for 2026 are very similar.
bb,
I have high hopes for Clifford. Let’s hope he’s not traded. He’ll start the season in AAA, not yet ready for majors. At whatever point he is, he may become mid-lineup, long term 1st base solution but also outfield corner options. I can’t recall if it’s Baseball America or Fangraphs that has raised his foot speed rating to 50/80 and says his defense at first base is now above average and in outfield solid too, including really strong arm.
And this is probably behind a lot of Stearns’ thinking: if you expect Benge, Clifford and Jett Williams to be impact players in 2026, you don’t block them.
If Clifford sticks, Polanco, worst case, is a DH and backup to Semien and Baty. If Benge and Williams stick, Hays is a potent RH bench bat and Taylor is a defensive substitute.
When a high-payroll team is “interested” in a player that nearly always means the reporter called the player’s agent to get a scoop – perhaps on another client – and the agent said “here’s something … the Mets asked about Austin Hays.” The agent’s goal is to get the guy a contract with someone sooner so he can go on vacation before the season, and it’s unlikely to be the Mets.
Sea,
Hayes sounds like a Stearns kind of free agent. It’s increasingly feeling like Sandy Alderson’s back in charge and I’m not liking it.
Stearns and Cohen have really failed the fans this offseason with utter lack of transparency. Instead of being honest with the public outright, and taking the tough questions, they leave it to largely silence and for everyone to figure it out based upon their action – and lack thereof. Feels a lot like the Wilpons.
No, the Wilpons would’ve kept Pete to appease fans and never signed a real star like Soto.
@LongTime…
Actually I feel its the other way around. The Wilpons told everything and wondered why nothing would go right. A front office like the well ran Braves are stealthy and strike when no one sees it coming. If the Braves would have signed Edwin Diaz everyone would have praised them for quietly landing him.
Just because fans want information like yesterday doesn’t mean they have to oblige. Im not saying what Stearns/Cohen is doing is right, I just rather wait till the end product over being emotionally unstable and getting mad over nothing.
People need to chill, the trolls are out and looking for an excuse. 😉
We can only hope we are out on Robert. Not sure what Stearn’s obsession is with him. If he was cheap, maybe, but even at subsidy, not a good value.
Hays makes perfect sense for a soft side platoon with Benge. In that scenario, Taylor plays more than a lot of folks think he should.
Honestly, I think Jett should be given a look as well.
All of that said, they still need a bit more oomph in the lineup. Likely a first baseman.
Okamoto. Maybe.
Would love to see them try to pry Soderstrom as a benefit to taking Severino off their hands (obviously something significant would have to go back…and I doubt they are shopping him.)
Mets fans idea of significant don’t seem to lineup with others meaning of the word significant.
A’s aren’t looking to dump Severino, as thy have said as much.
They actually are, but don’t wish to subsidize the contract in trade, thus they are not openly talking trade.
Stearns if he wants to be efficient might have to take on a contract to extract another need.
However, I can’t think of any that would make sense at the moment. The only crappy contracts are those that are not as helpful…
Berrios, Alcantara might work, Castillo, but if they are valuable, they won’t be cheap in prospects.
Gotta be a smokescreen, he never played for the Yankees
Well Guess we are back to the Wilpon days shopping at the discount shop Thought with Soto Cohen was serious now shows true colors Bullpen worse Starting Rotation no Improvement Hitting worse and all we hear is be patient well when your stadium is half full remember getting rid of all the core was your choice which is fine but not replacing them with better talent was your choice and as fans all we can do is stay away
Joshuan 2 – That how I’m feeling too. Stearns is Sandy Alderson, and Cohen is morphing into the Wilpons.
i have a family member who’s been big Mets fan since their inception in 1962,, and is so disgusted with this franchise, he’s done with them after gradually turning back to the Dodgers over the past few years. Letting Alonso leave was the final straw.
Cohen literally said from day one that when the prospects are ready, he won’t have to spend as much. Develop talent and pay for premier talent like Soto. The days of buying an entire roster is over.
Hays’ problem is health.
This is what happens when you base all decisions on metrics and nothing else. It may work in Milwaukee but I’d be willing to be it’s not going to work in NY. We’ll see.
If he voted for Trump, it’s not happening. Not making anyone forget all they lost anyway.
The White Sox will never get what they want for a Robert. That ship sailed a while ago.
Wonder if he’s related to Willy Mays Hays?
You would complain about the Brewers lineup being garbage and they won 97 games.
I think Stearns is messing with everyone, specifically agents whose clients would like to play in NY. “Don’t make me, but I will.”
And we know he will. (Montas, Manaea…)
Hays is fine in LF (which the Mets don’t have), why sign him to play CF? If the Mets aren’t going to sign Bellinger then go polar opposite and see if the Royals are open to moving Isbel or the Jays Straw, or even Meyers from the Astros