The New York Yankees‘ goal of running back their entire 2025 offense hit a snag this week.
The Yankees lost outfielder Austin Slater, who signed a minor-league contract with the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
The Yankees acquired Slater from the Chicago White Sox on July 30, and he slashed .120/.120/.240 in 25 plate appearances over 14 games with the Yankees a season ago. He did not make an appearance for the Yankees in either of their playoff series against the Boston Red Sox or Toronto Blue Jays.
Over 699 games in nine seasons with the Yankees, White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants, Slater has 45 homers and 184 RBIs and a .720 career OPS.
The Yankees Lost Austin Slater to the Tigers
Slater was acquired by the Yankees to give them outfield depth, particularly in right field due to Aaron Judge’s injury status at the time.
But after they re-signed Cody Bellinger to a huge, five-year contract, and hoping to give Jasson Dominguez and/or Spencer Jones a chance to make the team out of spring training, the Yankees did not realistically consider re-upping Slater.
So the Tigers swooped in and signed the 33-year-old to a non-guaranteed contract in hopes that Slater can help their prowess against left-handed pitching. He has 30 home runs and a .787 OPS in 1,022 plate appearances against southpaws, far superior to his .640 career OPS against righties.
Slater also is a strong defensive player in the outfielder, especially right field where he boasts a 7.9 career ultimate-zone rating in his nine-season MLB career.
As a non-roster invitee, Slater is not guaranteed a roster spot with the Tigers but will be vying for one of their bench spots. According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck, the Tigers deployed the sixth-most platoons in the majors in 2025 under manager A.J. Hinch, and Slater could be a part of a lefty-righty duo this year too.
The Yankees May See the Tigers in the Postseason
The Yankees and Tigers have each been to the postseason in consecutive seasons, but they have yet to meet in the playoffs since the 2012 American League Championship Series, which Detroit swept.
Still, the Tigers are looking like one of the few AL clubs that could challenge the Yankees for the 2026 pennant. Detroit has made a flurry of moves in the past week to make its roster more formidable.
The Tigers, of course, signed Framber Valdez and then added franchise icon Justin Verlander to a one-year deal Tuesday. Add that duo to ace Tarik Skubal, and Detroit’s pitching staff looks like a strength in 2026.
Yet, perhaps more alarming for Yankees fans is the fact they struggled mightily against the Tigers in 2026. Detroit went 4-2 against the Yankees and outscored them 40-18 in those six games.
Plus, the Tigers came to the Bronx amid their awful late-season swoon — they went 7-17 in September last year — and dominated the Yankees. Detroit won 12-2 and 11-1 on consecutive nights Sept. 9-10, its only back-to-back wins over the season’s final five weeks.
So the Yankees may want to step up their play against Detroit in their six head-to-head games this season in June. It may be a precursor for October.
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