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Austin Slater is heading to the New York Yankees, giving them another right-handed bat they can plug into a part-time role down the stretch.
The active Yankees acquired the veteran outfielder from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in exchange for minor league pitching prospect Gage Ziehl.
New York had a pressing need to bolster its outfield ranks with star slugger Aaron Judge sidelined by a flexor strain in his right elbow.
“Really excited about the move," manager Aaron Boone said before Wednesday night's game against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium. “Talked about it over the recent weeks — just getting more roster flexibility, complementary guys.”
Boone initially said Slater was traveling from Chicago to New York and there was an “outside chance” he would arrive in time to be active Wednesday night. But a little more than an hour before first pitch, the Yankees added Slater to their 26-man roster and optioned backup catcher J.C. Escarra to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The 32-year-old Slater hit .236 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 51 games with the White Sox this season. He has an .859 OPS against left-handed pitching.
“Really enjoyed my time here and met some incredible people," Slater said. “Super fun clubhouse to be in. But then also really excited to go play for the Yankees. One of those teams as a kid you always dream about playing for. And they are right in a race for the playoffs. Excited to go there and try to help them out.”
New York began the day four games behind first-place Toronto in the AL East.
The well-traveled Slater can play all three outfield positions. He spent the first seven-plus seasons of his career with San Francisco before being traded to Cincinnati last summer. New York will be Slater's fifth team in just over a year.
“At this point, we’re a little more prepared than we were last year,” Slater said. “It was something, there was always writing on the wall that it could happen. That maybe helped us mentally prepare a little bit more this year.”
The Yankees will assume $573,925 of Slater's remaining $1.75 million salary, which also will increase their luxury tax by about $631,000.
The trade is the latest in what has been a busy run-up to Thursday's deadline for New York. The team acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from Colorado and infielder Amed Rosario from Washington within the last week.
“Bringing in obviously McMahon first to be the primary third (baseman), but then Rosario and Slater who both really hit left-handed pitching really well. You see our lineup tonight, it’s lefty heavy and we have a lot of lefty players, so you have some real complementary pieces for different situations that make you more of a threat as the game moves through,” Boone said.
"And he’s swinging the bat really well right now. So, really excited to get him.”
In his first professional season, the 22-year-old Ziehl was 5-4 with a 4.15 ERA in 15 starts and one relief appearance this year with Class-A Tampa, High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset combined. He was selected by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 2024 amateur draft out of Miami.
