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Yankees Interested In Paul Goldschmidt, Nick Martinez, Austin Slater

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TODAY: The Yankees’ interest in Slater extended to the point that New York offered Slater a big league deal earlier this offseason, The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty reports.  It isn’t known when the Yankees made the offer or if it’s still on the table, though Slater remains unsigned.

JANUARY 30: The Yankees have made some notable moves this month, re-signing Cody Bellinger and acquiring Ryan Weathers from the Marlins. They still have more work to do. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that they have shown some interest in various free agents, including right-hander Nick Martinez and Michael Kopech, as well as outfielders Austin Slater and Randal Grichuk. Heyman also mentions that first baseman Paul Goldschmidt seems willing to return to the Yankees even if that’s in a part-time role. Jack Curry of Yes Network mentioned the club’s interest in a Goldschmidt reunion on Yankees Hot Stove earlier this week.

Goldschmidt signed a one-year, $12.5MM deal to join the Yankees a year ago and was set to be their everyday first baseman. He should have less earning power now and would likely be looking at a lesser role as well. He finished the year with ten home runs and a .274/.328/.403 line. The resulting 103 wRC+ was just barely above league average, his second straight season of offense around league par. As the season wore on, Ben Rice took over some of his playing time at first base.

Though the season was only about average overall, Goldschmidt was excellent in a platoon capacity, hitting .336/.411/.570 against southpaws for a 169 wRC+. Perhaps there’s a path for him to return to the Yankees in a short-side platoon capacity. The Yanks have a pretty lefty-heavy lineup. In addition to Rice at first, they have Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells slated for regular duty. There should be opportunities to play matchups with righty bats like Amed Rosario and someone like Goldschmidt.

Heyman writes that Goldschmidt is open to the reduced role but it would reduce the club’s flexibility a little bit. They have one bench spot going to backup catcher J.C. Escarra and another to Rosario. Putting Goldschmidt in there would only leave one spot for either Jasson Domínguez or Oswaldo Cabrera. Once Anthony Volpe is healthy, that could bump José Caballero to the bench and knock someone else out, though that’s all assuming the roster is completely healthy.

On the financial side, it’s unclear if the two sides would be able to meet up on a fair price for Goldy. The Yankees are going to be paying the competitive balance tax for at least a third consecutive year and are above the top tier. They face a 110% tax on anything they add at this point, so signing any player means they are paying out more than twice as much as the player will actually receive.

Goldschmidt has also been connected to another former club, with the Diamondbacks reportedly interested in a reunion as well. That would also likely be a platoon situation, with Arizona having Pavin Smith lined up to play first base against righties.

Martinez, 35, has arguably been baseball’s top swingman in recent years. Since the start of 2022, he has posted a 3.67 earned run average in 524 2/3 innings. He has been better out of the bullpen, with a 2.94 ERA as a reliever compared to a 4.10 mark as a starter, but the flexibility is valuable to teams as they navigate a long season.

For the Yankees, their short-term rotation picture is very different than the long-term outlook. They are slated to start the campaign with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and Weathers in five spots. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are going to begin the year on the injured list but will eventually jump in there when they get healthy. Clarke Schmidt will miss at least the first half recovering from Tommy John surgery but could perhaps make a late-season appearance.

Even in the projected season-opening five, there are some question marks. Schlittler had a great debut but still has just 14 regular season starts on his résumé. Gil missed a lot of 2025 due to a lat strain and his results weren’t great when he returned. Weathers has had plenty of injury issues over the years and still hasn’t hit 90 innings in a season.

Presumably due to the uncertainty in that group, the Yankees have added a couple of swing options already, signing Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough. Blackburn got a $2MM guarantee and Yarbrough $2.5MM. Those two could step up and make starts if needed, depending on what happens with everyone else, or they could be in the bullpen.

Martinez should be a more expensive version of the same idea. Two years ago, he got a two-year, $26MM deal from the Reds. He pitched well enough in the first year to trigger an opt-out, then received a $21.05MM qualifying offer, which he accepted.

He will presumably have to settle for something lower than that now that he’s a bit older and posted a 4.45 ERA in 2025, but his 2.61 ERA as a reliever should be worth a few million alone, never mind the flexibility of being able to make competent starts. As mentioned with Goldschmidt, the Yankees would effectively be paying double whatever Martinez is able to earn. Martinez was connected to the Tigers in rumors last week.

Kopech, 30 in April, has some starting experience but will presumably be a straight bullpen add. He has been used strictly in relief for two years running now and was also hurt for most of 2025, so it’s unlikely any club would plan to stretch him out now. He showed his upside in 2024, split between the White Sox and Dodgers. He posted a 3.46 ERA over 67 appearances. His 12.2% walk rate was quite high but he punched out a huge 31.5% of batters faced.

He will be a buy-low opportunity for someone. Last year, he only made 11 appearances. He made trips to the injured list due to a shoulder impingement and a torn meniscus in his right knee. He was connected to the Giants last month but remains unsigned.

As for Slater and Grichuk, they are right-hitting outfielders. As mentioned earlier, the Yankees project to have a lefty-heavy lineup. That includes Grisham and Bellinger in the outfield. Domínguez is a switch-hitter who struggles against lefties.

The Yanks acquired Slater at last year’s deadline but he didn’t play much due to a left hamstring strain suffered shortly after the trade. But in his career, he has been a strong outfield defender who hits well with the platoon advantage. He has a .267/.357/.430 line and 119 wRC+ against lefties in his career. Grichuk is fairly comparable, with a .268/.318/.500 line and 118 wRC+ against southpaws in his career.

Photo courtesy of Tim Heitman, Imagn Images

Yankees Notes: Slater, Stanton, Williams

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Acquired from the White Sox at the trade deadline, Austin Slater made only two appearances in the pinstripes before he suffered a left hamstring strain.  Slater was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 5, and he’ll unfortunately be missing far more than just the 10-day minimum, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner) that Slater will need 4-6 weeks of recovery time.

It’s a tough break for both Slater and the Yankees, as the nine-year veteran was expected to bring some needed right-handed hitting balance to New York’s outfield mix.  Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham both hit from the left side and Jasson Dominguez is a switch-hitter, plus Aaron Judge is still limited to DH duty as he fully recovers from a right flexor strain.  The idea was that Slater would primarily platoon with Dominguez in left field, but that plan will now have to be put on hold until September.

Even if Slater had been healthy, Giancarlo Stanton was expected to get some outfield time in the wake of Judge’s injury, as the Yankees weren’t going to keep Stanton’s bat out of the lineup entirely.  Stanton’s return to the grass has come today, as the slugger is penciled in as the Yankees’ starting right fielder for today’s game with the Astros.  With left-hander Framber Valdez on the mound, the Yankees are utilizing most of their right-handed bats in the starting lineup, leaving Dominguez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Austin Wells on the bench.

It marks the first time since September 14, 2023 that Stanton has played a position other than designated hitter.  Multiple lower-body injuries limited Stanton’s time in the outfield, and even his move into a seeming full-time DH role came at a physical cost.  Stanton didn’t make his 2025 debut until June 16 as he was dealing with torn tendons in both elbows.

With all of this in mind, Stanton is expected to be used only sparingly in the outfield, since the Yankees naturally want to keep him healthy for the stretch drive.  Stanton has hit .268/.345/.528 with 10 homers over his 142 plate appearances this season, with a 139 wRC+ that would be his highest since the 2020 campaign.

New York needs all the help it can get as the club tries to get its season back on track.  The Yankees are only 19-30 over their last 49 games, dropping from first place in the AL East to just a half-game lead over the surging Guardians for the final AL wild card slot.  Relief pitching is one of the chief culprits for the Yankees’ slide, as the team’s bullpen 4.90 ERA since June 13 ranks 26th of the 30 big league teams.

The acquisitions of Camilo Doval, David Bednar, and Jake Bird at the trade deadline was supposed to stop the bleeding on the relief front, yet Bird has already been optioned to Triple-A and Doval and Bednar have each had some shaky moments in their brief stints as Yankees.  Devin Williams has also continued to struggle, and he picked up the loss by allowing three runs (two earned) during the 10th inning of yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Astros.

After years as a relief ace with the Brewers, Williams now has a 5.73 ERA over 44 innings with New York.  To put it in perspective, Williams allowed only 48 total earned runs in 235 2/3 innings over his six seasons prior to 2025, but he has already been touched for 28 ER in his lone season with the Yankees.

Given these numbers, Kirschner opined that Williams might not even last the season in the Bronx, as the Yankees could opt to just release him in a few weeks once some other relievers (i.e. Fernando Cruz, Ryan Yarbrough) return from the IL.  Such a scenario would’ve seemed unthinkable heading into the 2025 season, and many of Williams’ secondary metrics are in line with his career norms.  It seemed like he had gotten on track during a dominant stretch from mid-May until the All-Star break, but Williams has a 10.38 ERA over his last 8 2/3 innings, and has allowed at least one earned run in each of his last five outings.

At the very least, it would seem like Williams can’t be trusted for any more high-leverage work.  (Even last night, he likely wouldn’t have been used in the 10th inning if other pitchers hadn’t been unavailable.)  A more extreme move like a release might hinge on how the rest of the bullpen is performing or if the Yankees feel they have enough depth, but as Kirschner notes, there is already virtually no chance New York would re-sign Williams in free agency this winter.  If the team is going to cut ties anyway and Williams may not even be a candidate for a postseason roster at this point, a release in September might not be out of the question.

White Sox Trade Austin Slater To Yankees

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The Yankees have upgraded their bench and added some outfield depth, announcing Tuesday that they’ve acquired outfielder Austin Slater from the White Sox. The Yankees are sending minor league right-hander Gage Ziehl back to Chicago in return. It’s a one-for-one swap.

Slater, 32, is a reserve outfielder who’s played all three spots and posted good numbers against left-handed pitching — both in 2025 and throughout his nine-year career in the majors. He’s hitting .236/.299/.423 in 135 plate appearances this year, including .261/.338/.552 versus left-handers. In 1006 career plate appearances versus lefties, the righty-swinging Slater is a .270/.362/.436 hitter.

Slater is playing the season on a one-year, $1.75MM deal, though he’s already tacked on $100K worth of incentives based on games played and plate appearances. He could feasibly tack on another $175K by reaching 75 games played and 200 plate appearances. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

Though he’s not likely to step into an everyday role, Slater is an affordable means of complementing switch-hitting left fielder Jasson Dominguez, who’s slashing .284/.354/.456 versus right-handed pitching but just .207/.286/.299 versus left-handed opponents. Much the same way that the Yankees acquired Amed Rosario to platoon with new third baseman Ryan McMahon, Slater can share time with Dominguez moving forward.

The Yankees are currently without MVP candidate Aaron Judge, who was recently placed on the injured list due to a forearm strain. A precise timetable for a return remains unclear, but it’s expected Judge will be limited to DH work when he initially returns. Dominguez, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger will be the primary outfield trio while Judge is on the mend. Grisham, like Dominguez, struggles against left-handed pitching.

Ziehl, 22, was the Yankees’ fourth-round pick in 2024. He’s spent the bulk of the year in A-ball but was just bumped up to Double-A. The Miami product has posted a combined 4.15 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout rate and 4% walk rate in 86 1/3 innings. Baseball America ranked Ziehl 18th among Yankees prospects on their midseason update of the system just last week. He’s a three-pitch starter whose fastball can climb to 97 mph. Ziehl pairs that pitch with a slider and changeup that both draw average or better grades.

Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported the trade.

Yankees Notes: Judge, Bellinger, Goldschmidt, Slater, Schlittler

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Aaron Judge’s right flexor strain continues to be the overarching story impacting the Yankees’ business on and off the field as the trade deadline approaches.  Manager Aaron Boone provided some more details on Judge’s status in an interview with Jomboy Media’s “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast (link to X) today, saying that Judge is slated to start hitting off a tee no later than tomorrow.  It will still be 10-15 more days before Judge is able to throw, however, keeping with the initial expectation that Judge will be limited to DH duty when he is able to return to New York’s lineup.

Judge received a PRP injection in order to help the healing process, and if he is able to swing without discomfort, that should allow him to get back into the field at least as a designated hitter.  It’s a good sign that Judge is already set to take some swings, though there won’t be many sighs of relief in the Bronx until Judge is officially back from the 10-day IL, and perhaps not until he is able to take his regular spot back in right field.  The longer Judge is DH-locked, the longer Giancarlo Stanton will have to play the outfield, which is itself a roll of the dice considering Stanton’s lengthy injury history.

The ripple effect of Judge’s injury can’t be understated, as the superstar’s absence adds to the recent misery for a Yankees team that is 15-24 over its last 39 games.  While the Yankees are 57-49 and remain the AL’s top wild card team, SNY’s Andy Martino reported yesterday that the club was considering selling some talent at the deadline if Judge’s elbow issue had proved to be season-ending.  Following up on that report, Martino adds that the Yankees floated Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in talks with at least one team.  Goldschmidt is an impending free agent, and Bellinger can opt out of his $25MM player option for 2026 and enter the open market as well following the season.

This could just be due diligence and an example of how front offices tend to prepare for any scenario, as Martino again stressed that it is quite unlikely that the Bronx Bombers will be anything but deadline buyers.  New York has already been busy on the trade front in adding Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario, and remain linked to multiple other players on the rumor mill.

Austin Slater is the latest name in the mix, as ESPN’s Buster Olney lists Slater as one of the right-handed hitting outfielders on the Bombers’ list of possible targets.  The veteran outfielder is hitting .244/.308/.437 over 131 plate appearances for the White Sox this season, with an .897 OPS in 74 PA against left-handed pitching.

A right meniscus tear shelved Slater for about five weeks earlier this season, but has looked good since returning in May.  Slater is one of the more inexpensive rentals on the market, as he has only around $580K remaining on his $1.75MM salary for the 2025 campaign.  He’d fit into any team’s budget at that number, so plenty of teams beyond just the Yankees figure to be checking in with the White Sox.

As Martino noted, the Yankees may be more apt to make modest deadline upgrades than to swing any real headline-grabbing trades.  If the club did do something a little more consequential like move a highly-touted prospect, Cam Schlittler might be a player to watch, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes that the right-hander “is rumored to be near the top of several wish lists” from rival teams.

Schlittler is just three starts into his big league career, with a 4.91 ERA over his 14 2/3 inning in the Show.  His 13.2% walk rate and three home runs allowed are signs of growing pains, but Schlittler has posted very good numbers in the minors since being a seventh-round pick for New York in the 2022 draft.  Offering a big league-ready young starter can open the door in many trade talks, yet given how the Yankees are themselves stretched for rotation depth, they might well see the value in keeping Schlittler for the rest of the 2025 stretch run, let alone for the future.

Austin Slater Undergoes Meniscus Surgery

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White Sox outfielder Austin Slater underwent surgery to address a meniscus tear in his right knee yesterday, the team informed reporters (including Scott Merkin of MLB.com). He’ll be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.

Slater went on the injured list over the weekend. The right-handed hitter has appeared in eight games this season. He’s started 5-20 with a home run and a couple doubles. The Sox have given him 10 plate appearances against right-handed and left-handed opponents alike. He’s mostly been a short-side platoon bat throughout his career. Slater is a .270/.362/.431 hitter against southpaws. He has fanned in 33% of plate appearances against righty pitching, putting up a .230/.316/.334 slash.

The White Sox made a handful of modest one-year free agent pickups over the offseason. Slater was the first of those additions. He signed for a $1.75MM guarantee with another $500K in performance bonuses. The incentives range from 50 to 100 games and 100 to 300 plate appearances, so he could unlock most or all of those bonuses as long as his rehab process goes as expected.

Slater is one of three outfielders on Chicago’s injured list. They’re also without Andrew Benintendi and Mike Tauchman for the moment. Michael A. Taylor is playing every day in left field. Lefty-swinging Joshua Palacios and switch-hitter Brooks Baldwin have been operating as a right field platoon.

White Sox Place Austin Slater On 10-Day IL Due To Right Meniscus Tear

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The White Sox announced that outfielder Austin Slater has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a meniscus tear in his right knee.  The IL placement is retroactive to April 11.  Outfielder Greg Jones was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

With Andrew Benintendi (groin strain) and Mike Tauchman (hamstring strain) already on the IL, Chicago’s outfield has now been further reduced by Slater’s injury, which looks to be significantly longer term in nature depending on the severity of the tear.  The best-case scenario could see Slater back on the field in a few weeks’ time, while he might be shelved for a couple of months if surgery is required.  Manager Will Venable told SoxMachine’s JamesFegan and other reporters that the team doesn’t have a timeline yet for Slater.

This is actually the second injury Slater has suffered during his brief tenure with the White Sox, after an oblique issue cost him a couple of weeks during Spring Training.  Slater signed a one-year contract worth $1.75MM in guaranteed money back in November, as the Sox aimed to use the right-handed hitting Slater in a platoon capacity in one or both of the corner outfield positions.  Now, all of Chicago’s planned corner outfield candidates are on the IL, leaving Michael A. Taylor, Brooks Baldwin, Joshua Palacios, and now Jones as the makeshift group flanking center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Slater posted solid to very good numbers as a part-timer with San Francisco from 2020-23, but his production cratered badly last year, as he slashed just .209/.321/.266 over 212 combined plate appearances with the Giants, Reds, and Orioles.  He has actually logged more big league innings as a center fielder than he has in left or right field, though defensive metrics indicate that Slater is much better suited to corner outfield work.

AL Notes: Slater, Garcia, Canterino

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White Sox outfielder Austin Slater was scratched from yesterday’s game with a left oblique strain, with Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times among those to relay the information. The club hasn’t provided any details about how long they expect Slater to be out but oblique strains are notoriously pesky.

The Sox have taken a few hits to their outfield mix recently. Andrew Benintendi suffered a fracture in his hand after being hit by a pitch and is slated to be out of action for four to six weeks. Michael A. Taylor has been undergoing scans due to some elbow inflammation.

The club isn’t planning on being competitive this year but has made an effort to bolster the roster. They signed Slater, Taylor and Mike Tauchman to join an outfield/designated hitter mix alongside Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. The idea was seemingly to add some veteran presence to a young roster while also giving the club some potential midseason trade candidates. With some more playing time opening up, perhaps young guys like Dominic Fletcher or Oscar Colás could seize roles. The club also has Joey Gallo, Brandon Drury and Corey Julks among their non-roster invitees.

Some more notes from around the Junior Circuit…

  • Rangers left-hander Robert Garcia hopes to be a closer someday, telling Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News as much. He also believes now is a good time to take a shot at it with Texas not having a set closer yet. Garcia had a 4.22 earned run average last year but his 29.9% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate were quite strong. A .329 batting average on balls in play and 57.2% strand rate pushed that ERA up, which is why he had a 2.38 FIP and 2.71 SIERA. He doesn’t yet have a save in his career but has 17 holds. His main competition could come from veteran Chris Martin, who has plenty of good numbers on his track record but more as a setup guy than a closer. Martin has 14 career saves in the majors and 106 holds, though he did have a 21-save season in Japan in 2016.
  • Twins right-hander Matt Canterino has been shut down due to a right shoulder strain, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. He’s awaiting a second opinion with no current timetable for his return. It’s another unfortunate setback for a righty who has had many. Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2023 season and then a rotator cuff strain prevented him from getting back on the mound last year, meaning he hasn’t pitched in official game action since 2022. Thanks to the pandemic and some other injuries, he only tossed 85 innings from 2019 to 2022. He had an excellent 1.85 ERA and 39.2% strikeout rate in that time, prompting the Twins to protect him from the Rule 5 draft by giving him a roster spot in November of 2022. But since then, he has burned through two of his option years without throwing an official pitch and is now hurt again.

White Sox Sign Austin Slater

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The White Sox announced the signing of outfielder Austin Slater to a one-year deal. The Ballengee Group client is reportedly guaranteed $1.75MM and can unlock another $500K in performance bonuses. Slater would receive $50K in his 50th game and $75K apiece at 75 and 100 games. He’ll collect $50K for his 100th, 150th and 200th plate appearance and would earn another $75K each at 250 and 300 trips to the dish.

Slater, 31, was an eighth-round pick by San Francisco out of Stanford during the 2014 draft. The outfielder spent more than a decade in the Giants organization as he made his big league debut in 2017 and remained with the club through last season. In the first three seasons of his career, Slater was a decent but unspectacular fourth outfielder for San Francisco, slashing a combined .254/.335/.368 in 544 total plate appearances during that time. While primarily an outfielder, he also received occasional time at first base and even made token appearances at both second and third base off the Giants’ bench.

The outfielder broke out during the shortened 2020 season, however, with a 150 wRC+ and a .282/.408/.506 slash line in 104 trips to the plate while appearing in 31 of the club’s 60 games. That leap forward offensively earned Slater an expanded role over the next few years, and from 2021 to 2023 he became a regular for the Giants against left-handed pitching. While he was still generally shielded from righties, Slater slashed a respectable .257/.345/.412 in 343 games from 2021 to 2023. That’s good for a respectable 113 wRC+, and across those 838 plate appearances he walked at a 10.5% clip, swatted 24 homers, and swiped 29 bases despite frequent trips to the injured list cutting down on his playing time over the years.

Unfortunately for Slater, his production cratered in 2024. The outfielder hit just .209/.321/.266 (76 wRC+) overall in 212 trips to the plate this year while bouncing between the Giants, Reds, and Orioles. Even more surprisingly, the outfielder actually carried reverse splits this year after years of feasting on left-handed pitching. While he enjoyed a 141 wRC+ against lefties from 2020 to 2023, Slater hit just .188/.310/.231 against them in 142 plate appearances this year. Dismal as that overall production last year was, there is a silver lining in Slater’s performance. Once he arrived in Baltimore on the day of the trade deadline, he looked much more like the player he’s been throughout his career. In 79 plate appearances with the Orioles down the stretch, Slater hit .246/.342/.333 (102 wRC+) overall and posted a 114 wRC+ against southpaws.

That late-season rebound could inspire additional confidence in Slater’s ability to return to form in 2025 and beyond. That appears to be what the White Sox are betting on, and Slater makes plenty of sense for the club as a right-handed platoon option. Veteran lefty bat Andrew Benintendi is entrenched in left field, while the club also employs a host of left-handed youngsters in right field and at DH including Zach DeLoach, Dominic Fletcher, Gavin Sheets, and Oscar Colas. Of that group, only DeLoach (in a sample of just 79 big league PAs) lacks a significant platoon split.

Mixing in Slater against left-handed pitching should be a huge boost for a Sox offense that produced an MLB-worst 74 wRC+ against left-handed pitching last year, even if he merely recreates the production he offered the Orioles rather than bouncing back to the excellent form he showed from 2020 to 2023. While even an excellent short-side platoon bat isn’t going to make the White Sox contenders in 2025 following a 121-loss season this year, Slater was sufficiently attractive as a trade piece this summer to get dealt not once, but twice prior to the deadline. If he can garner that level of interest amid a down season, it’s easy to imagine the White Sox recouping some value for his services next July in the event he bounces back.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the White Sox were signing Slater to a major league deal. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the $1.75MM base salary and the $500K in incentives. The Associated Press reported the incentive structure.

Orioles Designate Cristian Pache For Assignment, Option Heston Kjerstad

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The Orioles announced a batch of roster moves today, activating three trade acquisitions. Outfielders Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater as well as left-hander Trevor Rogers have now been added to the roster and the club also recalled infielder Liván Soto. One spot was opened by placing infielder Jordan Westburg on the 10-day injured list with a right hand fracture, a development that was reported yesterday. To open three more spots, they optioned left-hander Keegan Akin and outfielder Heston Kjerstad and designated outfielder Cristian Pache for assignment. Vinny Nittoli, who was designated for assignment last week, elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment.

The Orioles engineered a surprising outfield shuffle in the week leading up to the deadline. It started with a notable subtraction, as Austin Hays was sent to the Phillies, bringing back reliever Seranthony Domínguez as well as Pache. The Baltimore roster is loaded with position player talent and the outfield still looked strong without Hays, consisting of Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser, Anthony Santander and Kjerstad. Since Pache is more of a glove-first guy, he was likely ticketed for a bench role.

But in the final moments of the deadline, the O’s also acquired Jiménez from the White Sox and Slater from the Reds. Since Slater is generally considered to be a solid defender and hits lefties very well, perhaps they figured he was an upgrade on Pache for a bench outfielder role.

That would be an understandable position to take, as Pache has struggled to make an impact from the batter’s box. He was once considered one of the top 10 prospects in all of baseball during his time in Atlanta’s system since it was believed he had the ability to be an all-around contributor. While the speed and defense have been as advertised, his hitting has been abysmal. He has hit .181/.244/.274  in his first 546 major league plate appearances. He exhausted his final option season in 2022, a year in which he hit .248/.298/.389 for a 68 wRC+ at the Triple-A level.

But he has continued to find work due to his glove. In just over 1,300 innings in the outfield, he has racked up 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average. Oakland acquired him from Atlanta as part of the Matt Olson trade but was flipped to the Phillies at the start of last year, with the Phils mostly keeping him on the bench since he is out of options and can’t be sent down to the minors without being exposed to waivers. The O’s seemed to have some interest in a similar role for him but perhaps decided to move on when Slater became available.

With the deadline now passed, the O’s won’t have the ability to trade Pache elsewhere. He will be freely available to all 29 clubs at some point in the coming days as Baltimore will have no choice but to put him on waivers. Perhaps another team will take a flier on him based on his past prospect pedigree and the solid floor provided by his glovework. Many clubs have roster openings in the wake of the deadline and could perhaps find room for him. As mentioned, he is out of options but is still in the pre-arbitration phase of his career. If he lands a roster spot somewhere, he can be retained via arbitration for three seasons after this one.

Kjerstad getting sent down is somewhat surprising in that he’s been performing well, but it’s also not surprising since it’s not the first time. This is actually going to be his third optional assignment of the year, as he was sent down just prior to Opening Day, recalled in late April and optioned again in the middle of May before being recalled again in late June. In 81 major league plate appearances, he has struck out 29.6% of the time but also drawn walks at an 11.1% rate and hit .261/.370/.420 for a wRC+ of 125.

Despite that strong performance, the club’s stockpile of talented position players has bumped him down to Norfolk yet again. It’s perhaps a bit perplexing to see him nudged out for guys like Jiménez and Slater, but the deadline was essentially the last chance to meaningfully add talent. The O’s took that chance even though it meant bumping a guy like Kjerstad into a depth role for the time being, and those new additions are likely looking at part-time roles anyway.

Slater has a .274/.364/.433 batting line and 122 wRC+ against lefties compared to a .226/.316/.334 line and 84 wRC+ against righties. Jiménez is having a rough season overall but is hitting .304/.360/.370 against southpaws this year for a wRC+ of 109. The two of them will likely be in short-side platoon roles, Jiménez helping to shield Ryan O’Hearn from lefties while Slater protects Mullins. O’Hearn has hit .259/.286/.296 for a 67 wRC+ this year with the platoon disadvantage while Mullins is at .141/.164/.211 for a wRC+ of 3.

Rather than have Kjerstad collecting dust on the bench, the O’s will have him get some regular work for the Tides again, at least until an injury changes the calculus down the line. Even if he doesn’t carve out a role with the big league club this year, he should have a better path in 2025 as Santander is slated for free agency. Jiménez has a $16.5MM club option but the O’s will probably go for the $3MM club option instead.

Orioles Acquire Austin Slater, Livan Soto

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Today: Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports that the Reds will receive cash considerations in the deal, not a player to be named later.

July 30: Just before the deadline, the Orioles have picked up Austin Slater and infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations in a trade with the Reds, per announcements from both clubs. The Reds receive cash considerations or a player to be named later.

Slater is on the move for the second time this month, as Cincinnati acquired the outfielder in a deal with the Giants only three weeks ago. But the Reds recently nabbed Ty France from the Mariners, perhaps leading to Slater being squeezed out of their plans.

He has long been a solid defender with a right-handed bat that performs well with the platoon advantage. He’s hit just .226/.316/.334 against righties in his career for an 84 wRC+ but his slash against southpaws is .274/.364/.433, which leads to a 122 wRC+.

On the defensive side of things, Slater has close to 3,000 outfield innings on his ledger, with almost 1,200 of those in center field. Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating consider him subpar in center but good in a corner, while Outs Above Average considers him to be strong in all three spots.

The O’s traded Austin Hays for Cristian Pache and Seranthony Domínguez but were reportedly looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder to take some of the at-bats that were available in the wake of Hays’ departure. It would appear that Slater will be the one to step up for that job.

Soto, 24, is clearly a favorite of the Baltimore front office. They claimed him off waivers from the Angels in February, but the Angels claimed him back later that month. The O’s claimed him a second time back in April but then also quickly put him back on waivers, when the Reds claimed him.

He has a small sample of major league experience, with 23 games scattered over this season and the previous two. He’s hit .280/.378/.376 in Triple-A this year for a 101 wRC+. He’s capable of playing the three infield spots to the left of first base and even has a small amount of center field experience. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and an additional season as well.

C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic first reported on X that Slater was going to the O’s. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relayed Soto’s inclusion on X. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer first relayed the cash on X.

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