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New Reds Outfielder, Projected Starter Dealing With Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Drew Crabtree | Last updated Mar 25, 2025 9:52 PM ET

Death, taxes, and the Cincinnati Reds always dealing with injuries. Last year, Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand missed all or most of the year. Not to mention the entire rotation spent some time on the IL. This year, guys like Andrew Abbott, Alexis Diaz, and Spencer Steer are going to open the season on the IL.

After the Reds vs. Prospects showcase at Day Air Ballpark, home of the Dayton Dragons, the Reds radio team broke the news that new outfielder and projected starter Austin Hays is dealing with some kind of calf injury. With Opening Day two days away, the team needs to assess his injury to see if he's going to miss time on the IL or if they will wait it out.

This tweet is the extent of the information we have at this point:

Per Reds Radio, Austin Hays is dealing with a calf issue. #Reds expect to know more tomorrow.
— Gingersaurus Rex (@HeyGingersaurus) March 26, 2025

Hays is expected to be one of the better outfielders on the Reds' roster. In the last four seasons, Hays' 2024 was an aberration. However, that could be why the Reds were able to get him at the price they did.

In 2024, Hays posted a -0.1 bWAR in 85 games, including a mid-season trade. It was by far his worst season as a Major Leaguer. In the three years prior, Hays' bWAR was 3.4, 2.9, and 2.5, respectively. He was an All-Star starter for the American League from the Baltimore Orioles in 2023.

Spring Training stats do not mean anything. However, Hays was having a strong build-up to the regular season. In 42 at-bats, the outfielder slashed .310/.370/.690 with three home runs and 14 RBI. Now this could just be a slight strain and he'll be fine. It is more likely that he will be fine for the beginning of the season and will miss minimal time, if any.

At the end of the day, the Reds' prospects took down the MLB squad, 7-5, as the big leaguers debuted a brand-new alternate uniform.