Veteran outfielder Austin Slater and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a Minor League contract, sources tell FanSided.
Slater, who had opted out of his contract with Tampa Bay last week, sought a Major League deal. He drew interest from numerous teams in recent days, but elected to return to the Rays to finish out the 2026 season. Among the teams that were looking for outfield help were the Chicago White Sox, who traded for Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Tommy Pham on Monday.
Slater, 33, has played with the Rays, Miami Marlins and New York Mets this season, hitting .231/.311/.277 in 65 big-league plate appearances. He’s hit .215/.301/.308 in part-time roles across the last three seasons. But Slater has performed very well in Triple-A this year, hitting .305/.407/.453 with an .860 OPS, three home runs and 12 RBI in 35 games in Durham.
Austin Slater returns to Rays for playoff push
Considering his success in Triple-A, and his past performance against left-handed pitching, it’s surprising that more teams didn’t bite on a Major League contract for Slater. He also has the ability to play both corner outfield spots as well as first base.
The Rays have emerged as the best team in the American League this year, with an AL-best 83-55 record and 4.5-game lead in the AL East entering play on Wednesday. They were aggressive at the deadline, heavily connected to Tarik Skubal before eventually landing righty Freddy Peralta and catcher Liam Hicks, with Peralta throwing six innings while allowing only three hits and one run in his start Tuesday against his former team the Mets.
Since being acquired by the Rays, Peralta’s underlying numbers have improved dramatically. His walks per nine innings with New York was 3.8, and in six starts with the Rays it has been 1.6. He allowed 9.5 hits per nine innings with the Mets and he’s allowing only 7.6 in Tampa Bay, much closer to his recent numbers with the Milwaukee Brewers.
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