Former New York Yankees outfielder Austin Slater is back in the AL East.
Slater elected free agency on June 22 from the Rays after being DFA’d by the team. Yet, just a week later, he has returned to Tampa Bay as he signed a minor-league deal with the team, according to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.
“Rays re-signed OF Austin Slater to a minor-league contract. He had been DFA’d after a brief stint with Rays, helping fill in when DeLuca was out, and had opted for free agency. He’ll go back to AAA,” Topkin wrote on X.
Slater will report to Triple-A Durham and add some more depth to the Rays’ system, who could get a look in the MLB again soon.
The 33-year-old began the 2026 season with the Miami Marlins before signing with the New York Mets and then the Rays. Slater ended the 2025 season with the Yankees as New York acquired him from the Chicago White Sox at the deadline for Gage Ziehl. He appeared in just 14 games for the Yankees, hitting .120 with 2 RBIs as he struggled to fit in.
This season, between the three teams, Slater is hitting .231 with 3 RBIs.
Yankees Tried to Extend Slater
Although Slater struggled with New York, the Yankees did offer him a contract extension.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports the Yankees have offered Slater a deal worth $1 million. Why it didn’t come to fruition is uncertain, as Slater ended up signing a minor-league deal with the Marlins.
Yet, at the time of the trade, Slater was excited to play for a storied franchise like the Yankees.
“I’m really excited to go play for the Yankees,” Slater said after the trade. “It’s one of those teams as a kid you always dream about playing for. They’re right in a race for the playoffs. I’m excited to go there and try to help them out.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone also felt like Slater would help the team.
“I’m really excited about the move,” said Boone. “We’re getting more roster flexibility; complementary guys. He’s swinging the bat really well right now.”
However, Slater struggled with the Yankees and ended up appearing in just 14 games as a lackluster move.
New York Gets Positive Update on Aaron Judge
The Yankees have been struggling as star slugger Aaron Judge is out with an injury.
Boone provided an update in an appearance on “Talkin’ Yanks” on Tuesday, and gave some positive news on Judge.
“The feedback this week has been good,” Boone said. “I feel like he’s starting to feel better, which is good. He was uncomfortable there for a while. It seems like the normal stuff is starting to feel better, so hopefully that’s a good sign of some healing.”
However, Boone said Judge isn’t able to do any baseball activities yet.
So, there is no clear timeframe for Judge to return to the Yankees lineup, who need him. Judge is hitting .248 with 17 home runs and 38 RBIs this season. He’s the reigning back-to-back AL MVP.
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