The Phillies and Orioles agreed to a rare deadline trade between contenders on Friday that will send former All-Star outfielder Austin Hays to Philadelphia and righty reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache to Baltimore. The teams announced the trade.
Hays, 29, would appear to be a sensible platoon partner for Brandon Marsh, given that he's historically performed better versus lefties than righties. In 63 games to date, he's hit .255/.316/.395 (106 OPS+) with three home runs and 13 doubles. Hays enjoyed an All-Star year last season, batting .275/.325/.444 (114 OPS+) with 16 home runs and five stolen bases. He has experience at each outfield position, though he's mostly been used in the corners. He's under team control through an additional season, making him more than a rental.
Domínguez, 29, is a slider-fastball reliever who is also controllable through next season (albeit in the form of a club option). In 38 appearances this season, he's compiled a 4.75 ERA (86 ERA+) and a 3.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Domínguez is generally better than those numbers indicate, having tallied a 124 ERA+ the previous two seasons. To his credit, he's continued to be an excellent contact manager, holding opponents to an average exit velocity of 86.8 mph. He seems likely to finish the season stronger than he opened it, giving the Orioles another quality reliever to use in high-leverage situations.
Pache, 25, has seen his offense regress after a surprisingly strong showing in 2023. Over the course of 50 games this season, he's batted .202/.288/.269 (60 OPS+) with no home runs or stolen bases. Pache is an outstanding defensive outfielder, however, and it stands to reason that Baltimore will attempt to leverage his glove as much as possible.
