Austin Hays was released by the Chicago White Sox on August 7, DFA'd the same day he was activated after spending most of the year on the injured list with a right hamstring strain and a left calf strain.
The Padres signed him Sunday. He came off the bench in the eighth inning of San Diego's 7-2 win over Houston in his first game as a Padre, pinch-hit against Astros lefty Bryan King and launched a two-run homer.
The Padres bench, which had been among the quietest in the league, erupted.
Hays, 31, was a 2023 AL All-Star with Baltimore and hit .266 with 15 home runs for Cincinnati last season.
The 2026 White Sox version of Hays played 12 games, batted .233 and barely stayed healthy enough to be useful.
The Padres signed him anyway because they are 61-57, one game out of a Wild Card spot and 27th in the majors in OPS against left-handed pitching, precisely the role Hays fills. He is a career .282 hitter against lefties and is expected to start against southpaws in left field or at DH with the Padres pushing for October.
"We've been missing that right-handed bat off the bench that we could throw in for a pinch-hit," manager Craig Stammen said. The two-run homer in the first at-bat is the kind of thing that makes a manager look very smart, very fast.