White Sox To Signal Austin Slater

The White Sox are signing outfielder Austin Slater to a significant league deal, per a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Put up. The phrases of the settlement should not but identified. Slater will have to be added to the membership’s 40-man roster when the deal is made official, although Chicago has area out there so a corresponding transfer won’t be mandatory.

Slater, 31, was an eighth-round choose by San Francisco out of Stanford throughout the 2014 draft. The outfielder spent greater than a decade within the Giants group as he made his massive league debut in 2017 and remained with the membership via final season. Within the first three seasons of his profession, Slater was an honest however unspectacular fourth outfielder for San Francisco, slashing a mixed .254/.335/.368 in 544 complete plate appearances throughout that point. Whereas primarily an outfielder, he additionally obtained occasional time at first base and even made token appearances at each second and third base off the Giants’ bench.

The outfielder broke out throughout the shortened 2020 season, nonetheless, with a 150 wRC+ and a .282/.408/.506 slash line in 104 journeys to the plate whereas showing in 31 of the membership’s 60 video games. That leap ahead offensively earned Slater an expanded function over the subsequent few years, and from 2021 to 2023 he grew to become a daily for the Giants towards left-handed pitching. Whereas he was nonetheless typically shielded from righties, Slater slashed a good .257/.345/.412 in 343 video games from 2021 to 2023. That’s good for a good 113 wRC+, and throughout these 838 plate appearances he walked at a ten.5% clip, swatted 24 homers, and swiped 29 bases regardless of frequent journeys to the injured checklist slicing down on his taking part in time through the years.

Sadly for Slater, his manufacturing cratered in 2024. The outfielder hit simply .209/.321/.266 (76 wRC+) general in 212 journeys to the plate this yr whereas bouncing between the Giants, Reds, and Orioles. Much more surprisingly, the outfielder truly carried reverse splits this yr after years of feasting on left-handed pitching. Whereas he loved a 141 wRC+ towards lefties from 2020 to 2023, Slater hit simply .188/.310/.231 towards them in 142 plate appearances this yr. Dismal as that general manufacturing final yr was, there’s a silver lining in Slater’s efficiency. As soon as he arrived in Baltimore on the day of the commerce deadline, he appeared far more just like the participant he’s been all through his profession. In 79 plate appearances with the Orioles down the stretch, Slater hit .246/.342/.333 (102 wRC+) general and posted a 114 wRC+ towards southpaws.

That late-season rebound might encourage further confidence in Slater’s capacity to return to kind in 2025 and past. That seems to be what the White Sox are betting on, and Slater makes loads of sense for the membership as a left-handed platoon possibility. Veteran lefty bat Andrew Benintendi is entrenched in left discipline, whereas the membership additionally employs a bunch of left-handed kids in proper discipline and at DH together with Zach DeLoach, Dominic Fletcher, Gavin Sheets, and Oscar Colas. Of that group, solely DeLoach (in a pattern of simply 79 massive league PAs) lacks a big platoon break up.

Mixing in Slater towards left-handed pitching must be an enormous increase for a Sox offense that produced an MLB-worst 74 wRC+ towards left-handed pitching final yr, even when he merely recreates the manufacturing he provided the Orioles reasonably than bouncing again to the wonderful kind he confirmed from 2020 to 2023. Whereas even a wonderful short-side platoon bat isn’t going to make the White Sox contenders in 2025 following a 121-loss season this yr, Slater was sufficiently enticing as a commerce piece this summer season to get dealt not as soon as, however twice previous to the deadline. If he can garner that stage of curiosity amid a down season, it’s straightforward to think about the White Sox recouping some worth for his companies subsequent July within the occasion he bounces again.