New Yankees outfielder Austin Slater in lineup vs. Rays
Austin Slater of the Yankees bats during the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
And on Thursday afternoon, it was Austin Slater’s turn.
The outfielder, acquired by the Yankees in a trade with the White Sox on Wednesday morning, made it to the Stadium in the evening at about 6:15 and was put on the active roster but only got to watch as the club pulled out a roller-coaster 11-inning win over the Rays.
On Thursday, he was in the starting lineup, batting seventh and playing rightfield, in the series finale with Tampa Bay. He drove in a run in the Yankees' 7-4 victory.
“I've done this before — I think you're running on adrenaline,” Slater said of getting into a game right after changing teams. He was dealt twice last season, including to the Orioles at the 2024 MLB trade deadline for their stretch run to a postseason berth.
“It can either be you're swinging at the first pitch and it's either right down the middle or it's in the dirt,” he added. “I've started to become used to situations like that . . . and just starting to become more comfortable, trying to slow things down.”
Slater was acquired so the Yankees’ regular starting outfield with Aaron Judge on the injured list — Jasson Dominguez, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham — doesn’t have to play every day and because he hits lefthanded pitching to the tune of a career .270/.362/.436 slash line. The former was the primary reason he faced Rays righthander Ryan Pepiot.
“Pepiot’s a guy that's been really tough on lefties this year,” manager Aaron Boone said. “And with [Grisham] after a long game . . . although he’s doing well, I just want to be mindful of [him], especially as we head into two series where we're going to be on turf. So hopefully Slater can give us a little spark in there and contribute to what's going on,”
Slater didn’t have the kind of charming story behind donning his No. 29 uniform that third baseman Ryan McMahon did about selecting No. 19 after he was acquired last week. That’s the uniform that was in Slater's locker when he arrived.
“The Yankees have a ton of retired numbers, so I didn't have any expectations with jersey numbers,” he said. “I'm just excited to be here.”
Of course, selecting a number was a bigger priority for McMahon, who, unlike Slater, is under contract beyond this season.
As Thursday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline was approaching, Slater expected he’d be changing uniforms.
“It's always a little bittersweet,” he said of being traded. “You're saying goodbye to guys that you spent the last four months with, but then you get the opportunity to go play for the Yankees and go join in a pennant race. That’s always something you want to go do.”
McMahon — who has gone 8-for-20 with two doubles, four walks, four RBIs and eight strikeouts in six games as a Yankee — has been relishing his move from a last-place Rockies team. It seems likely that Slater will feel the same way after moving on from the last-place White Sox.
“The anticipation was definitely getting to me,” Slater said. “I was not sleeping a whole lot, even though part of me definitely wanted to get traded and go on a winning team and play competitive baseball. Once it happened, it was a little bit of a relief and excitement took over.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
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