Things sure have gotten wild in Detroit over the past week. From Framber Valdez, to the Skubal arbitration battle, to adding Tigers legend Justin Verlander back to the roster, we haven’t seen a busier stretch in the Scott Harris era. Right after the Verlander deal was announced, another minor bit of news followed as the Tigers added veteran right-handed hitting outfielder, Austin Slater, on a minor league deal with an invite to camp.
Slater is a decent addition to the spring training roster, and provides
some competition for both Matt Vierling and Jahmai Jones as the club’s other right-handed hitting outfielders. Slater has a long track record of hitting left-handed pitching, and he’s a solid defender in all three positions.
The now 33-year-old was drafted by the San Francisco Giants back in 2014. He had a few good seasons in platoon role with them in his late 20’s. The past few seasons have seen him bouncing around the league, most recently as a depth outfielder for the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees both in 2025.
The Stanford grad has that in common with manager A.J. Hinch, as well as a reputation for a savvy veteran player who knows his role. Winning an Opening Day gig will be difficult, but he would make a fine Triple-A stash if they can keep him.
Slater is a career 119 wRC+ hitter against left-handed pitching. He really has never handled right-handed pitching well at all, so any role he carves out for himself will be quite limited. He hasn’t played center field in the major leagues at all since 2024, but he was worth +1 DRS and +1 Outs Above Average in left field last year, and neutral in right field. He only appeared in 65 total games.
He’s unlikely to have much impact on the Tigers, but as we discussed in an article earlier today, the outfield depth was a problem in 2025. While things already looked better headed into this season, adding Slater to compete in spring training is a nice little depth addition for insurance.
