Rays, Austin Slater Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rays are signing outfielder Austin Slater to a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Ballengee Group client elected free agency yesterday after being outrighted by the Mets.
Slater is on his fourth organization of the 2026 season. He was in camp with the Tigers this spring. Granted his release shortly before Opening Day, Slater commanded an MLB contract from the Marlins. He spent a couple weeks with Miami but was outrighted off the roster in late April. Slater signed another big league deal almost immediately, replacing Tommy Pham in the New York outfield.
The Jacksonville native has appeared in 21 combined games, just over half of them starts. He’s hitting .209 with only one extra-base knock (a double) while striking out 15 times in 49 plate appearances. Slater hasn’t hit much over the past couple seasons, pushing him into a journeyman role after a half-decade run as a decent complementary outfielder with the Giants. Since the start of 2024, he carries a .212/.298/.304 line in 421 plate appearances divided between seven teams.
Slater made a living of mashing left-handed pitching during his time with San Francisco. He hasn’t hit well against pitchers of either handedness over the past couple seasons. He remains an above-average runner and competent corner outfield defender though.
It’s a sensible pickup for a team that has taken a couple hits to an already lackluster outfield over the past week. Jake Fraley and Jonny DeLuca will probably be out into July due to sports hernia surgery and a hamstring strain, respectively. That pushed Victor Mesa Jr. up from Triple-A Durham. Jacob Melton, their only other outfielder on the 40-man roster, hasn’t played in a month due to a left ankle sprain. Slater would probably be the next outfielder up if anyone else from the MLB roster suffers an injury.
Austin Slater Elects Free Agency
Outfielder Austin Slater has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Mets had sent him outright to Triple-A Syracuse a few days ago but he has exercised his right to reject that assignment and head to the open market instead.
If a player has at least five years of big league service time, he has the right to reject an outright assignment while also keeping his salary commitments in tact. The Marlins signed Slater in late March, after the Tigers had granted him his release from a minor league contract. The Miami deal was a major league pact with a $1MM salary. The Fish cut bait less than a month into the season, designating Slater for assignment. He cleared waivers and elected free agency.
The Fish remain on the hook for the remainder of that salary. Other teams can sign Slater and only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Marlins pay. The Mets stepped up to volunteer for that opportunity but they also bumped Slater off their roster after less than a month. Between the two clubs, he has a rough .209/.286/.233 line on the year.
Other clubs may still be interested in him based on his track record. Slater has a decent floor from his speed and defense. In over 3,000 outfield innings in his big league career, spread across all three spots on the grass, he’s been credited with six Outs Above Average. On the whole, Defensive Runs Saved has him just a hair below average, but mostly due to that metric considering him subpar in center. He has five DRS in right field and four in left, with over 1,000 innings in each corner. Though he’s now 33 years old, Statcast still pegs his sprint speed in the 66th percentile of qualified big leaguers this year.
Offensively, Slater has been around league average in his career, but with caveats. A right-handed bat, he has done most of his damage against lefties. He has a .263/.352/.420 line and 115 wRC+ with the platoon advantage in his career but a .228/.313/.331 line and 81 wRC+ in the other half of the split. He has also seen his overall production decline lately. From 2020 to 2023, he slashed .259/.352/.421 for a 117 wRC+, regardless of pitcher handedness. Since then, he has a .212/.298/.304 line and 74 wRC+.
Despite the declining numbers, there is some lingering interest. The Yankees liked him enough to trade for him at last year’s deadline. He had to settle for a minor league deal in the winter but looked good in spring, hitting .267/.389/.467, and quickly got himself a big league pact. He hasn’t been able to carry that over into the season but his résumé should still be enough to at least get him a minor league deal somewhere, if not a major league one.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Outrighted To Triple-A: Slater, Blach, Brooks
Catching up on some players recently designated for assignment…
- The Mets outrighted outfielder Austin Slater to Triple-A Syracuse, as per Slater’s MLB.com profile page. There isn’t yet any word on whether or not Slater will accept the assignment, as Slater has the ability to elect free agency rather than report to Triple-A and remain in the Mets organization. Since he has more than five years of MLB service time, Slater can become a free agent while still keeping the $1MM he is guaranteed in 2026, as per the terms of the contract he signed with the Marlins just before the season began. Over 49 combined PA with Miami and New York, Slater has hit only .209/.286/.233 with just one extra-base hit.
- Ty Blach cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Cubs‘ Triple-A Iowa affiliate, according to the left-hander’s MLB.com profile page. Chicago selected Blach’s contract to the active roster last weekend but DFA’ed him two days later, after Blach tossed three shutout innings of relief work in the Cubs’ 9-3 loss to the Brewers on Monday. That cup of coffee represented Blach’s first bit of MLB work since 2024, and he now has the option of rejecting the outright assignment in favor of free agency or returning to Iowa. Given the ongoing injury woes on the Cubs’ pitching staff, Blach might prefer to stay put, as another call to the majors might come sooner rather than later.
- Aaron Brooks pitched for Triple-A Durham yesterday, indicating that the right-hander accepted his outright assignment to the Rays‘ top affiliate. Brooks was outrighted last Sunday and he had the ability to elect free agency, but it looks like the righty has opted to stay in Tampa’s organization. Like Blach, Brooks was also making his first MLB appearance since 2024 in his own one-game cameo back in the Show, though Brooks’ lone outing was much rockier. He was charged with three earned runs in one-third of an inning of work in the Rays’ 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays on May 13.
Mets To Designate Austin Slater For Assignment
The Mets are expected to designate outfielder Austin Slater for assignment, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The veteran latched on with New York in late April after getting DFAed by the Marlins. The team has yet to announce the move.
Slater took the spot of another well-traveled outfielder, joining the club when Tommy Pham was designated for assignment. The Mets were Slater’s third team in a little over a month. He opted out of a minor league deal with the Tigers before signing with the Marlins. After a dozen games in Miami, the outfielder lasted just nine games in New York.
A platoon bat for much of his career, Slater has just four plate appearances against right-handed pitching this season. He picked up two hits in those chances. The veteran scuffled against lefties, posting a .444 OPS with a bloated 33.3% strikeout rate.
Slater’s skillset is somewhat duplicative of Tyrone Taylor‘s contributions, and he doesn’t offer the same defensive ability. With A.J. Ewing emerging as an everyday option in the outfield, the Mets didn’t need two right-handed bench outfielders. Slater will now head back through the DFA process. If the Mets don’t find a trade partner, and no club claims him, the veteran can forego a minor league assignment and choose free agency. That’s how he landed with the Mets after departing the Marlins.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Mets Sign Austin Slater, Designate Tommy Pham For Assignment
The Mets have agreed to sign outfielder Austin Slater, The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports. Slater’s signing comes shortly after news broke that outfielder Tommy Pham was designated for assignment, as per Mike Puma of the New York Post. It can be assumed that Slater will take Pham’s spot on the active roster and 40-man roster, though New York still has only 39 players on the 40-man even with Slater’s arrival.
Slater is now on his third team in a little over a month’s time. The Tigers signed Slater to a minor league contract over the offseason, and after Slater triggered the first mandatory opt-out clause in that contract at the end of camp, Detroit released the veteran rather than add him to the Opening Day roster. Slater then quickly landed with the Marlins on a one-year, $1MM guarantee, but was designated for assignment after 12 games.
It was just earlier today that Slater cleared waivers and he elected to become a free agent. Because he has more than five years of MLB service time, Slater can keep the remainder of that $1MM salary, so the Mets might just be paying him a prorated big league minimum salary (which is subtracted from the $1MM total, with the Marlins covering the rest).
Slater hit only .174/.286/.174 over his 28 PA in a Miami uniform, though that is still better than Pham’s numbers in a similarly small sample size with the Mets. Assuming that the DFA will end Pham’s tenure in Queens, Pham will conclude his nine-game stint with zero hits and just a single walk over 14 plate appearances.
New York signed Pham to a minor league contract right at the start of the season and then selected him to the active roster on April 13. His long stay in free agency meant that the veteran didn’t get any sort of traditional Spring Training, though he got some ramp-up time in the Mets’ extended spring camp and five games of single-A ball with the team’s St. Lucie affiliate. While 14 PA isn’t a huge sample, it is safe to wonder if Pham simply wasn’t yet ready to face big league pitching, notwithstanding the fact that Pham has plenty of experience as a 13-year MLB veteran.
The selection to New York’s roster locked in a prorated $2.25MM salary for Pham in 2026. Another team would absorb the remainder of that salary if Pham is claimed off waivers, but the likelier scenario is that Pham goes unclaimed, leaving the Mets on the hook for the remaining money no matter what the next step is in Pham’s career.
He has more than enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, though it’s possible Pham might accept an outright just to get more playing time in the Mets’ farm system, with a handshake agreement in place to recall Pham once he is fully ramped up. However, the Slater signing probably means Pham’s time in New York is over, and he’ll be released if he isn’t claimed. A new team could then sign Pham to a contract and only owe him a minimum salary, which is subtracted from the Mets’ $2.25MM figure.
Pham and Slater are both right-handed hitting outfielders, and Slater has more of a reputation as a lefty-masher even though his numbers against southpaws have been average to mediocre over the last three seasons. Pham has also not been particularly productive since 2023 (a season that included his first stint with the Mets), as he hit .246/.317/.369 over 927 PA with the White Sox, Cardinals, Royals, and Pirates in 2024-25.
With 10 different teams on his big league resume, Pham might well land with team #11 in relatively short order, or perhaps revisit another of his former organizations. Slater spent his entire Major League career with the Giants before the team dealt him to the Reds in July 2024, and Slater has since also become a journeyman who has now played for six different clubs at the MLB level.
Slater should slide right into Pham’s role as the complement to the left-handed hitting Carson Benge, who has yet to get going at the plate in his rookie season. Benge’s struggles are just one drop in the bucket of calamity that has been the 2026 Mets’ season, as the team has sunk to a 9-19 record (tied with the Phillies for the worst in baseball) after being swept by Colorado in today’s doubleheader.
Austin Slater Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency
April 26th: Slater has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Mish.
April 23rd: The Marlins made the Slater and Ruiz moves official today.
April 22nd: The Marlins are designating veteran outfielder Austin Slater for assignment, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid. Esteury Ruiz has played four Triple-A games on a minor league rehab stint and will be activated for Friday’s series opener in San Francisco. Miami’s 40-man roster count will drop to 39.
Slater signed a $1MM free agent contract at the end of Spring Training. He had been in camp on a minor league deal with Detroit but didn’t crack their roster. The Fish wanted a righty-hitting platoon outfielder with Ruiz shelved by an oblique strain and starting left fielder Kyle Stowers down with a hamstring strain. Stowers returned over the weekend, and Ruiz’s forthcoming return pushes Slater off the roster.
It wasn’t a great showing for the 33-year-old Slater. He played in 12 games and collected just four hits, all of them singles. He took four walks but struck out nine times in 28 plate appearances. Slater has pinch hit a few times but hasn’t been in Clayton McCullough’s starting lineup since April 12. Heriberto Hernández gets some work as a righty-hitting left fielder. Utilityman Javier Sanoja can also play out there.
Ruiz, an offseason trade pickup from the Dodgers, adds a speed element off the bench. He hasn’t hit much in the big leagues but raked in Triple-A last year. Ruiz stole 67 bases for the A’s back in 2023, his only full season at the MLB level.
Miami has five days to trade Slater or place him on waivers. He has sufficient service time to decline an outright assignment and seems likely to be released.
Marlins Sign Austin Slater To Major League Deal
March 25th: The Marlins announced today that Mazur has been placed on the 60-day injured list. In a separate announcement, the club made the Slater deal official. He’ll join Heriberto Hernandez as a righty outfielder off the bench behind Marsee, Caissie, and Conine.
March 24th: The Marlins are in agreement with outfielder Austin Slater on a major league deal, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid. He just opted out of a minor league deal with the Tigers a few days ago. He’ll make $1MM plus bonuses, per Kevin Barral of Fish on First. The Marlins will need to open a 40-man roster spot but that should be as easy as transferring right-hander Adam Mazur to the 60-day injured list. Mazur underwent Tommy John surgery a few weeks ago and will miss the entire season.
Slater, 33, just had a strong camp with the Tigers. He stepped to the plate 36 times in 15 games and slashed .267/.389/.467. Detroit’s roster is fairly crowded, however. They are going to carry prospect Kevin McGonigle on the Opening Day roster and have bumped outfielder Wenceel Pérez to the minors.
The Marlins will take advantage of that roster crunch by scooping up Slater. In his career, he has generally combined solid defense in all three outfield slots with strong offense against left-handed pitching. His overall batting line is .248/.336/.384. That’s almost exactly league average, translating to a 101 wRC+. That includes a .267/.357/.430 line and 119 wRC+ against southpaws, compared to a .227/.311/.329 slash and 80 wRC+ otherwise.
That profile should fit well in the Miami outfield. The Marlins are slated to begin the season with Kyle Stowers on the injured list, which will leave Jakob Marsee, Owen Caissie and Griffin Conine in the outfield. All four of those guys are lefties, so Slater should have plenty of chances to slot in against southpaw opponents.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Tigers Release Austin Slater
The Tigers have released outfielder Austin Slater, according to several Tigers beat writers (including the Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold). Slater was in camp on a minor league contract, and as an Article XX(B) free agent, the first of his three opt-out clauses fell this weekend. As per Petzold, Slater exercised his opt-out, and the Tigers chose to part ways with the outfielder rather than add him to the 40-man roster.
It is possible Slater could soon re-sign with Detroit, if this release was something of a handshake agreement just to get past the first Article XX(B) deadline. Or, it might be that the Tigers are willing to let Slater go since they’re satisfied with their right-handed hitting depth options. While a Detroit lineup heavy in left-handed bats could get another lefty swinger if top prospect Kevin McGonigle makes the team, the Tigers have Matt Vierling, Jahmai Jones, and Javier Baez set for platoon or bench duty as right-handed hitters.
Slater is entering his age-33 season, and now looking for a job in what would be his tenth MLB season. The majority of that time was spent with San Francisco, but Slater has since bounced around since the Giants dealt him to the Reds in July 2024. Slater has seen time in the bigs with the Giants, Reds, Orioles, White Sox, and Yankees over the last two seasons, with only a .212/.299/.314 slash line to show for 372 plate appearances. Injuries also impacted his 2025 season, as Slater spent time on the injured list with both a meniscus tear in his right knee and a left hamstring strain.
The chances of a potential reunion with Slater and the Tigers may hinge on how much interest Slater can find on the open market. Depending on other roster cuts or perhaps an injury or two, Slater might be able to find another job (and a clearer path to big league playing time) on another team. If nothing materializes after he tests the market, Slater could be open to returning to Detroit’s farm system.
Yankees Still Open To Adding Platoon Bat
Spring training games have begun but further roster tweaks are still possible. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that the Yankees are still open to adding a right-handed-hitting outfielder or catcher. Sherman mentions the club’s previously-reported interest in players like Randal Grichuk, Austin Slater and Chas McCormick. Grichuk is still a free agent. Slater and McCormick are in camp with other clubs on minor league deals, Slater with the Tigers and McCormick with the Cubs.
The Yankees have a lefty-heavy lineup, with six of their projected regulars swinging from that side. The three righties are right fielder Aaron Judge, designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and shortstop José Caballero. The lefies are center fielder Trent Grisham, left fielder Cody Bellinger, first baseman Ben Rice, second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., third baseman Ryan McMahon and catcher Austin Wells.
The Yanks do have a couple of righties to complement that group, with Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario projected to be on the bench. It would be nice to add even more coverage from the other side of the plate, especially with Goldschmidt only capable of playing first base.
Jasson Domínguez is a switch-hitter and could be the fourth outfielder but, given his youth, the Yankees should prioritize him getting regular playing time in the minors as opposed to being on the big league bench in a part-time role. He’s better from the left side of the plate regardless. Oswaldo Cabrera is a switch-hitter but he’s also better as a lefty bat. It’s also unclear if he’ll be fully recovered from last year’s ankle surgery by Opening Day. He and Domínguez both have options and could be sent to Triple-A.
The club currently projects to have J.C. Escarra, another lefty, as the backup catcher. He still has options, so it’s possible for the Yanks to add a righty-swinging catcher and bump Escarra to Triple-A. Sherman also wonders if the Yanks would be willing to ride with Rice as the backup catcher, but that seems highly unlikely with Rice slated to be the regular at first. There aren’t a lot of free agents left at this part of the calendar. Christian Vázquez is available and hits from the right side but he doesn’t have strong platoon splits in his career.
It’s possible that more guys shake loose as Opening Day nears. Some players on minor league deals with other teams won’t break camp, which could lead to those players opting out or being released. Fringe roster players might end up on waivers.
The Yanks may be hoping for that path on the outfield side. Their interest in Grichuk hasn’t yet resulted in a deal. Slater and McCormick still don’t have roster spots and could end up available in the coming weeks. Slater has default opt-outs in his deal since he was an Article XX(b) free agent, which means he finished last year on a big league roster and had at least six years of service time. He can opt out five days prior to Opening Day, May 1st or June 1st. Detroit’s Opening Day is March 26th, so that opt-out should come on March 21st.
The Tigers project for a lefty-heavy outfield mix consisting of Riley Greene, Parker Meadows and Kerry Carpenter. When Carpenter is in the designated hitter spot, switch-hitting Wenceel Pérez should step in. Slater’s righty bat would fit well in there but the Tigers already have Matt Vierling and Jahmai Jones on the roster. Slater was briefly with the Yankees in 2025 but injuries prevented him from making notable contributions.
McCormick would not have uniform opt-outs in his deal because he was not an Article XX(b) free agent. He has less than five years of big league service. He became a free agent because he was outrighted off Houston’s roster at the end of the season. As a player with at least three years of service time, he had the right to become a free agent and exercised that right.
Though he wasn’t guaranteed any opt-outs, Sherman notes that McCormick did get one put into his minor league deal with the Cubs for March 21st. Chicago projects for a starting outfield of Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki. McCormick could push for a fourth outfielder job but the Cubs also added Michael Conforto on a minor league deal this week, giving McCormick more competition.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images
Tigers, Austin Slater Agree To Minor League Deal
The Tigers are in agreement with outfielder Austin Slater on a minor league contract that includes an invite to MLB Spring Training. The Ballengee Group client would reportedly earn a $2MM base salary if he makes the team and could collect another $500K in performance bonuses.
Slater is a right-handed bat who’ll compete for a fourth outfield role. The 33-year-old is coming off a rough season in which he hit .216/.270/.372 over 65 games between the White Sox and Yankees. The numbers were probably weighed down by injury, as he suffered an early-season meniscus tear in his right knee and missed a month after the trade deadline because of a left hamstring strain.
For most of his career, Slater has been a solid complementary piece who does his best work as a short-side platoon bat. He had four straight seasons of above-average offense on a rate basis as a member of the Giants between 2020-23. That’s in large part because San Francisco was aggressive in playing matchups and got Slater so many looks versus lefty pitching. He’s a career .267/.357/.430 hitter in more than 1000 plate appearances against southpaws. His .227/.311/.329 slash in 836 trips to the dish without the platoon advantage is a lot less imposing.
Detroit is also one of the more platoon-heavy teams in MLB under A.J. Hinch. The top of their outfield/designated hitter mix skews left-handed. Kerry Carpenter will get the majority of the DH work with some time in right field. Riley Greene is the left fielder, while Parker Meadows projects as the primary center fielder.
Slater is no more than an emergency option in center but should be a capable defender in the corners if called upon. Jahmai Jones, Matt Vierling and the switch-hitting Wenceel Pérez — who has been better from the right side of the plate — are all platoon possibilities off the bench. Vierling was banged up for most of last season, while Pérez had a terrible September that marked a sour finish to what had been shaping up as a potential breakout.
As a player with six years of service time who finished last season on New York’s major league roster, Slater hit the market as an Article XX(b) free agent. That means this deal comes with a trio of automatic opt-out dates under the collective bargaining agreement. He can trigger an out clause on any of March 21, May 1, or June 1. If he does, the Tigers would have two days to either promote him or grant him his release.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Tigers had an agreement with Slater. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported it was an NRI. Robert Murray of FanSided had the financials.