The Chicago White Sox have signed outfielder Hays to a one-year contract agreement.

As reported by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Saturday morning, the Chicago White Sox have agreed to a one-year contract with experienced outfielder Austin Hays, featuring performance incentives. The club has not made an official announcement yet.

Hays missed 59 games in the 2025 season due to multiple injuries but demonstrated the batting skills that earned him an All-Star selection in 2023 when healthy. His 0.768 OPS ranked second among Reds players with at least 200 plate appearances and marked his fourth season in the past five years with 15 or more home runs.

The 30-year-old outfielder started the season strong, recording 12 hits in his first 28 at-bats, maintaining a batting average above .300 through June 27, and holding a slugging percentage of 0.500 up until the final week of July.

Hays excels against fastballs, hitting .337 with a slugging percentage of .709 in 95 plate appearances ending with four-seam fastballs; against sinkers, he batted .353 with a .632 slugging percentage over 71 plate appearances. Just from these two pitch types, he generated nine runs contributed, but his performance against other pitches was weaker, with slugging percentages below .400 against all non-fastball pitches.

He struggles particularly against sliders, slurve, and curveballs, striking out in nearly one-third of plate appearances ending with these pitches. Nevertheless, he shows outstanding ability against fastballs and possesses a strong right-arm throw, with arm strength better than 88% of players in the league.

Over the past three years, Hays has played for three different teams, each reaching the postseason. He has qualified for the batting average leaderboard in three seasons of his career, with OPS+ never falling below 105. In 2022, he hit 35 doubles for the Orioles, increasing to 36 the following year.

As he ages, maintaining health has become Hays's biggest challenge. He appeared in 103 games in 2025 but only 85 in 2024 due to calf, hamstring injuries, and a kidney infection. However, when healthy, Hays has proven he can contribute in multiple ways to winning teams.