Austin Hays signs with White Sox after Yankees, Mets interest

The Yankees and Mets shored up their outfields, and Austin Hays then headed to the Windy City.

The veteran outfielder agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal featuring incentives with the White Sox, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported Saturday.

Heyman listed early Saturday the Reds, Rangers, White Sox, Tigers, Cardinals, Padres and Cubs among the teams that had shown interest in or made an offer for the outfielder, while the Mets and Yankees had interest earlier in the offseason before their recent notable moves.

Hayes, an eight-year veteran, had a solid season for the Reds in 2025, particularly offering value against left-handed pitching.

He slashed .319/.400/.549 with a .949 OPS against lefties, although he exhibited more power against righties with 13 homers compared to two while facing southpaws.

The Yankees had been linked to Hays in case they did not re-sign Cody Bellinger, since Hays could have potentially platooned with Jasson Dominguez.

With Bellinger re-signing on a five-year deal and the Yankees already re-signing righty bench bat Amed Rosario, their need for another righty reserve bat lessened.

The Post reported in December that the Mets showed interest in Hays, but once they added Luis Robert Jr. in a trade, in addition to already having Tyrone Taylor, they seemingly did not need his bat.

The Mets’ acquisition of Robert, though, ultimately factored into his decision since the White Sox needed to replace the talented yet often-injured center fielder.

Chicago has had a busy offseason, previously acquiring Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, reliever Seranthony Dominguez and Luisangel Acuna in the Robert trade.

The White Sox went 60-102 last season, which means Hays could be on the trade market this summer.

Hays is a career .262 hitter with a .748 OPS and has slugged 83 homers. He started his career with the Orioles in 2017 before a 2024 trade to the Phillies. He then joined the Reds last offseason.