Yankees acquire outfielder Austin Slater from the White Sox

The Yankees continued to give themselves more options in the batting order and on defense Wednesday by acquiring outfielder Austin Slater in a trade with the White Sox.

Slater gives the left-heavy Yankees a righthanded hitter who has played all three outfield positions and first base. With Aaron Judge on the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain in his right elbow, the Yankees' regular starting outfield shapes up to be lefthanded-hitting Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham and switch-hitting Jasson Dominguez, who hasn’t been a strong performer batting righthanded. Last weekend, they added righty-hitting Amed Rosario in a deal with Washington.

“Really excited about the move,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I've talked about it over the recent weeks, just getting more roster flexibility, complimentary guys. Bringing in [Ryan] McMahon first [from Colorado] to be the primary third [baseman], but then Rosario and Slater, who both hit lefthanded really pitching well.

“You see our lineup tonight: it's lefty heavy and we have a lot of lefty players,” he added. “So you have some real complimentary pieces for different situations that make you more of a threat as the game moves through.

The Yankees sent minor league righthander Gage Ziehl to Chicago in the deal.

Slated arrived shortly before first pitch of the Yankees game against the Rays at the Stadium and the club put him on the active roster. Catcher J.C. Escarra was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Slater appeared in 51 games for the White Sox this season and posted a .236/.299/.423 slash line with five home runs in 135 plate appearances. He fared well against lefthanded pitching with an .859 OPS and all five of his homers. His career slash line against lefthanded pitchers is .270/.362/.436.

Boone said Slater will primarily play the corner outfield spots, but could also see action in centerfield.

“I played against him a ton in NL West when he was with the Giants,” Bellinger said. “[He’s] very consistent . . . a good player overall, and I'm excited to have him part of the team.”

The deals for Slater and Rosario could open the door for the Yankees to use some platoons and to counter opposing pitching changes. In recent years the Rays have used 14 players to put out a strong nine-player lineup each night and that could be a direction for the Yankees.

“We haven't had that luxury here a lot of a lot of years and certainly this year, so having that more of that kind of moving-parts flexibility gives you some opportunities in key moments of the game to create a platoon advantage,” Boone said.

Ziehl, 22, was the Yankees’ fourth-round pick in last year’s MLB draft. He’s made 14 starts for Class A Tampa and was 4-4 with a 4.96 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. His last start was for Double-A Somerset.

Stanton takes part in outfield drills 

Giancarlo Stanton did defensive drills in right field before the game, part of working his way up to potentially playing the outfield when Judge returns from the IL and slots in as the designated hitter. Stanton last played in the outfield in 2023, but with Judge restricted from throwing that may be the only option to keep both of them in the lineup.

Boone was asked about Stanton’s progress toward being fit to play the outfield and replied: “I mean, there hasn't been much of it yet. He got out there [Monday] and . . . today. I think he's eager to do it and start introducing it and we'll just kind of see.”

Stanton was the starting DH on Wednesday.

Gil on track to start Sunday for Yankees

Luis Gil had no ill after-effects from his minor league rehab start on Tuesday night. The 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, out all season as the result of a lat strain suffered in spring training, is scheduled to make his first start of the season Sunday against the Marlins in Miami.

Gil pitched 4 1/3 innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Tuesday and allowed one run on three hits and a walk and seven strikeouts.

“I haven't watched his whole outing yet . . . saw some highlights and it was obviously good,” Boone said. “He was running out on the field, so I know he feels ready to go. We'll be really excited to get him back this weekend.”

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.