Ahead of tonight’s game against the Rays, the Yankees announced that they’ve added outfielder Austin Slater to the active roster. In a corresponding move, they optioned catcher J.C. Escarra to Triple-A.
News of the Yankees’ trade for Slater broke earlier today, with New York sending pitching prospect Gage Ziehl to the White Sox in exchange for the veteran bat. The 32-year-old has a middling .236/.299/.423 slash line to his name this year but has always done well as a lefty masher, a role he’ll likely
play for the Yankees down the stretch.
It’s Escarra who’s drawn the short straw and will head back to Scranton. The 30-year-old rookie was a great story making the team out of spring training, but was just serviceable as the team’s backup catcher this season. Escarra posted a .205/.299/.337 line in 39 games, grading out well as a framer but also making some notable defensive mistakes. He’s excelled as a hitter at Triple-A before, posting a .930 OPS with Scranton in 2024, so expect him to stay top of mind if he again hits in the minors and if the Yankees find themselves in need of a backstop.
The most notable part of this roster swap might come down to a player that wasn’t even involved: Ben Rice. That the Yankees were comfortable optioning Escarra suggests they’re comfortable with Rice being their backup catcher, at least for a time. Rice spent most of his amateur and minor league career as a catcher before shifting a bit towards first base in the last couple of years. He’s looked at least presentable behind the plate in a very small sample in the bigs in 2025, and he’ll likely to be asked to don the tools of ignorance much more often with Escarra in the minors.
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