Rays Designate Austin Slater For Assignment

The Rays have designated veteran outfielder Austin Slater for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the roster goes to fellow outfielder Jonny DeLuca, who’s been reinstated from the injured list after missing nearly a month due to a hamstring strain. Tampa Bay now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.

Slater only appeared in seven games with the Rays prior to being DFA. He hit well in a small sample of 25 trips to the plate, going 6-for-22 with a pair of doubles, three walks, three steals and six strikeouts. Tampa Bay is already his third team of the season and, more incredibly, his eighth major league club dating back to 2024.

Slater spent the first seven-plus seasons of his major league career with the Giants, who originally drafted him out of Stanford with their eighth-round pick back in 2014. After getting cut loose in the Bay, he’s since bounced to the Reds, Orioles, White Sox, Yankees, Marlins, Mets and now Rays. Slater had a decent run as a lefty-mashing utilityman in San Francisco from 2020-23, but his bat has witted in recent seasons. Dating back to 2024, Slater carries just a .215/.301/.308 batting line in 446 MLB plate appearances.

Slater’s best skill has always been his ability to hit lefties, but even that trait has dried up during this down phase. He’s a career .263/.353/.420 hitter when holding the platoon advantage but has authored a weak .205/.300/.305 output versus southpaws since 2024.

The Rays will have five days to trade Slater, place him on outright waivers or release him. He can reject an outright assignment even he goes unclaimed. Another team with a need for some right-handed help off the bench might take a look, but Slater has already cleared waivers twice this season. He elected free agency both times and would presumably do so once again if he’s not claimed this time around.