Outfielder Austin Slater has elected free agency after clearing waivers, reports Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. Slater had been designated for assignment by the Rays last week. As a veteran with years of service time, he has the right to reject outright assignments in favor of the open market.
Slater, 33, has continued to get opportunities based on his reputation but he hasn’t been living up to that track record lately. At his best, he was a strong outfield defender who could mash lefty pitching. From 2020 to 2023, he stepped to the plate 942 times for the Giants and hit .259/.352/.421 for a 117 wRC+. That included a .285/.380/.486 line and 140 wRC+ against southpaws, compared to a .220/.308/.324 line and 82 wRC+ otherwise.
Though he was a limited player offensively, he got good grades in the field and stole 37 bases. FanGraphs credited him with 5.2 wins above replacement for that span of three full seasons and the shortened 2020 campaign.
Since then, however, he has a .215/.301/.308 line in 446 plate appearances. That includes a .205/.300/.305 line and 75 wRC+ in 300 trips to the plate against lefties. Clubs continue to hope for a bounceback, such that Slater has appeared for eight different teams dating back to the start of the 2024 season.
Three of those eight clubs have rostered him this year, which doesn’t even include the Tigers. He signed a minor league deal with Detroit in February but opted out of that deal at the end of camp when he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster. That led to a big league deal with the Marlins, a pact that paid Slater a $1MM salary. He didn’t even last a month with the Fish before being bumped off the roster and then released. He has since bounced to the Mets and Rays. He has a combined .231/.311/.277 line and 69 wRC+ for those three clubs.
Slater will once again be on the open market and searching for his next opportunity. Due to his recent struggles, he will probably have to settle for minor league offers. If he eventually works his way back to the majors somewhere, he would only need to be paid the prorated major league minimum salary. The Marlins are on the hook for the remainder of the $1MM salary. In the scenario where some other team rosters him and is paying him the league minimum for a while, that will subtract from what the Marlins owe.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
