Austin Slater DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Free-agent veteran outfielder Austin Slater agreed to an undisclosed major-league deal with the Chicago White Sox on Monday. It's not the greatest landing spot for Slater in terms of fantasy purposes, but he should at least see a short-side platoon in Chicago against left-handed pitchers in 2025 on what will likely be a one-year deal. The 31-year-old right-handed-hitting outfielder has traditionally handled lefty pitchers well in his career, although he struggled against them in 2024 with the San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, slashing .188/.310/.231 against them with one of his two home runs on the year and 11 RBI in 142 plate appearances. Slater will be hoping to bounce back offensively for the Pale Hose next season. With a low ceiling and low floor, Slater should only be considered in deep mixed and AL-only leagues in 2025.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan O'Hearn and outfielder Austin Slater are not included in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards on Tuesday. In addition, catcher James McCann will be behind the dish and will hit ninth against Royals left-hander Cole Ragans. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter and is batting fifth, while Colton Cowser starts in left field and bats sixth. O'Hearn ended the regular season on a tear with the bat but did not have a single one of his 15 home runs on the year against left-handed pitchers. With veteran righty Seth Lugo set to start for KC in Game 2 on Wednesday, expect the lefty-hitting O'Hearn to be back in at DH for the O's. Slater has hit just .209 combined in 2024 with two homers and 18 RBI in 177 at-bats with the Orioles, San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds.

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Austin Slater will be batting leadoff for the Orioles on Saturday as they face the Cleveland Guardians and scheduled starter Joey Cantillo. Slater was acquired by the Orioles from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline and has made one plate appearance for the Orioles, a pinch hit single in Friday's 10-3 loss to the Guardians. Slater was generally used in a platoon role against southpaws when he was with the Giants and batted near the bottom of the order in his short time with the Cincinnati Reds. It's too early to tell if Slater hitting leadoff will be a regular thing for Baltimore, or if he'll be relegated to a platoon role like he had with the Giants, but fantasy managers looking for the 31-year-old to show his .543 OPS is a fluke will hope he gets plenty of opportunities in the leadoff spot to crank that number up.

Newly acquired outfielder Austin Slater will bat sixth in the Reds lineup on Thursday in their home matchup versus the Rockies. Slater came over from the Giants in a trade on Monday and debuted with the team on Wednesday, going 1-for-3 while batting out of the six-hole in that contest as well. Hopefully a change of scenery will benefit Slater, as he comes into Thursday batting .204 but is a career .254 hitter. His .286 BABIP compared to a career BABIP of .342 suggests he's been very unlucky at the plate this season, but he continues to get on base thanks to a keen eye, recording an above-average walk rate of 13.9% so far in 2024.

The Cincinnati Reds acquired outfielder Austin Slater and cash considerations from the San Francisco Giants on Sunday in exchange for left-hander Alex Young. Slater, a former eighth-round pick of the Giants out of Stanford in 2014, hit just .200 (18-for-90) with a home run, nine RBI, two steals and 12 runs scored in limited playing time in San Francisco this year. The 31-year-old veteran right-handed-hitting outfielder has a career .254/.344/.391 slash line with a .736 OPS, 39 home runs, 162 RBI and 47 stolen bases in 593 career games with the Giants. In Cincinnati, he'll likely fill in on the short side of a platoon in a corner-outfield spot against left-handed pitching. The Reds could use the outfield depth with Will Benson struggling and with both TJ Friedl (hamstring) and Nick Martini (thumb) currently on the injured list. Stuart Fairchild (back) is also banged up, and Jake Fraley is currently away from the team for personal reasons.