NEW YORK — Even after acquiring right-handed infielder Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals in the past week, the New York Yankees were still searching for a right-handed-hitting outfielder to bolster their depth.
On Wednesday morning, the Yankees acquired corner outfielder Austin Slater from the Chicago White Sox for minor-league right-hander Gage Ziehl. Slater will be a free agent at season’s end after signing a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the White Sox last offseason.
The Yankees needed a righty outfielder because Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez have struggled against left-handed pitching this season. Combined, the pair has hit .195/.299/.299 versus lefties in 2025. Slater has hit .261/.338/.522 with five home runs in 69 at-bats against lefties this season.
Adding another right-handed bat made sense for the Yankees as they look ahead to October, where they could face Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox and Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros.
Ziehl had a 4.15 ERA across 16 appearances in A-ball and one in Double A this season. A fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft, Ziehl was not ranked among Keith Law’s top 20 Yankees prospects entering this season.
The addition of Slater signals that the Yankees may lean into platoon splits, something that manager Aaron Boone hasn’t always done in his tenure. When a lefty starter is on the mound, expect both Slater and Rosario to be in the lineup.
The Yankees now have a bit of a roster crunch on the position player side, something they’ll have to navigate as they remain active in the reliever and starter markets.
Trade grade
Yankees: A-
White Sox: A-
It’s not an exciting move, but adding Slater, a 32-year-old rental outfielder making a modest salary, could be crucial for the Yankees down the stretch.
Slater profiles as a platoon corner outfielder, a right-handed hitter who does damage against lefties. That’s a commodity for the Yankees; while Aaron Judge is injured they have a lefty-loaded outfield comprising Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger and Domínguez. (Domínguez is a switch hitter, but he’s been atrocious against lefties this season.) Slater has a career .798 OPS against left-handed pitching, compared to .642 against righties — a split that’s been even more pronounced in limited at-bats this season. That’s not a bad guy to start in October when Tarik Skubal is pitching, or to bring off the bench late in games when Josh Hader enters. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Yankees intend to use Slater in center field; he has foot speed and a strong arm, but he’s only played three innings there this season.
To land Slater, the Yankees pulled from their deep reserve of pitching prospects, as they did in the Ryan McMahon and Rosario trades. So far, they’ve managed to improve their major league roster without parting with their top pitching prospects. Ziehl, who signed an over-slot deal out of last year’s draft, was ranked by Baseball America as the Yankees’ No. 18 prospect. The 22-year-old has climbed three levels this season, from Low A to Double A, but is still quite a distance from the majors. It’s a return the White Sox will be pleased with, considering the small bet they had placed on Slater after a rough 2024 season spent bouncing from San Francisco to Cincinnati to Baltimore. — Stephen Nesbitt
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)