MIAMI -- The Marlins announced the signing of veteran outfielder Austin Slater to a one-year deal on Wednesday afternoon, rounding out their Opening Day roster.
Miami cleared a 40-man roster spot for Slater by placing right-hander Adam Mazur (elbow surgery) on the 60-day injured list.
Slater, who exercised the release clause in his contract with the Tigers on Saturday, became a top target for the Marlins after injuries to outfielders Kyle Stowers and Esteury Ruiz over the weekend.
When the Marlins held a sim game on Tuesday afternoon at loanDepot park, they only had 12 healthy position players remaining in big league camp. A roster must have at least 13.
“Really, really excited to have Austin join our club,” manager Clayton McCullough said on Wednesday. “I saw him for a number of years as an opponent, [a] competitor. He'll bring a real high quality at-bat versus left, something that, historically, he's done, give us some nice options there. Expect him to start versus left, also be a real weapon off the bench versus left-handed relievers.
“He's got the ability to play very solid defense in the outfield as well. So we think it really rounds out our roster nicely and provides myself with a lot of options. He’s someone that has done this for a very long time at a high level.”
The 33-year-old Slater took part in the club’s workout on Wednesday after a strong Spring Training showing at Tigers camp, where he went 8-for-30 (.267) with eight runs, three doubles, one homer and four RBIs in 15 games. Miami also had a workout scheduled for Thursday ahead of Friday night’s season opener against the Rockies (7:10 ET) in Miami.
“A lot of chaos,” Slater said of the past five days. “Trying to figure out where the next step was. I was able to go home for a little bit, so that was nice, and relaxing, [to] see my son and my wife and my parents, kind of get regrounded, and then now it's time to go. So kind of a quick reset, and luckily it wasn't too long, so I still feel like I'm in baseball shape and ready to go.”
More of role player at this point of his nine-year career, the Jacksonville, Fla., native could serve as a platoon/pinch-hit specialist against lefties. This would come in handy for the left-handed-hitting-heavy Marlins, who have lefty outfield bats in Stowers, Jakob Marsee, Owen Caissie and Griffin Conine. The right-handed-hitting Slater has a career .787 OPS against lefties in 1,022 plate appearances and has better career splits off the bench (.830 OPS in 405 PAs).
With the Marlins facing Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland on Friday, either Slater or Heriberto Hernández could be the club’s starting left fielder.
Slater, who becomes the most experienced position player on the roster, was clearly a fit for the Marlins, and he even had a connection to the club: He played for general manager Gabe Kapler’s Giants from 2020-23. Slater credited that connection as well as the opportunity to play and mentor a younger team as key factors in signing with Miami.
“I was on the other side of it last year,” Slater said. “I got traded over to the Yankees at the Deadline, and we came into Miami and got swept. So seeing that from the other side, it's definitely exciting. What I love the most is seeing the energy that this team plays with just on the other side. The excitement, the grit. Those are all really cool things to see from a young team, and I'm just happy to be a part of it.”