Yankees trade for right-handed outfielder Austin Slater from the White Sox's

The Yankees have made their third trade of the deadline, just a little over 24 hours before the trade deadline tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET. They have acquired outfielder Austin Slater from the White Sox for pitching prospect Gage Ziehl, who was the Yankees' No. 18 prospect and has pitched in Single-A and Double-A this season.

“I’m really excited to go play for the Yankees,” Slater said in Chicago. “It’s one of those teams as a kid you always dream about playing for. They’re right in a race for the playoffs. I’m excited to go there and try to help them out.”

Slater is having a decent season in 51 games; he is hitting .236, with five home runs, 11 RBIs, a .721 OPS, and a 99 wRC+. Slater excels at hitting left-handed pitching this season with a .859 OPS and a 137 wRC+. 

Another good part about Slater's game is that he has been the best pinch hitter since 2016 with a .258 average, eight home runs, a .867 OPS, .385 wOBA, 147 wRC+, and a 2.2 fWAR. 

The 32-year-old Slater is a rental as he will become a free agent after the season. Salter has started 20 games in left field, 21 in right field, two in center field, and one game at first base this season. Slater has really solid arm strength in the 88th percentile, according to Baseball Savant. 

Slater will most likely be a platoon outfielder with Jasson Dominguez against lefties, as Dominguez has struggled against left-handed pitching this year with a .585 OPS and a 66 wRC+. As well as Trent Grisham, who has a .603 OPS and a 77 wRC+ against lefties.

Slater will join McMahon and Rosario as the Yankees' third deadline acquisition. The Yankees now need to turn their attention towards pitching. 

My thoughts on the trade: I don’t hate this trade by any means, but it doesn't move the needle for me much. It's not that I don't think Slater could be good for the Yankees, but I didn't think we were going to trade for another bat, especially an outfielder. This could mean that the Yankees will look to flip someone like Trent Grisham for pitching help, which I'm not particularly interested in since Grisham has been great this year. The Yankees desperately need bullpen help before the deadline tomorrow. 

Jack Curry of the YES Network just tweeted:

"Slater move is about flexibility & matchups," Curry said. "If Yanks use LHH heavy lineup, could have Stanton, Goldy, Rosario, or Slater vs lefty reliever. If they go RHH heavy lineup, could have Grisham, Rice, McMahon off bench. Dominguez and/or Grisham aren’t being dealt because NY added OF."