Here's What Newly Acquired Austin Slater Brings to the Cincinnati Reds' Outfield

This is a good start for the Reds, but it's only the first step.

Jun 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pinch hitter Austin Slater (13) reacts after hitting a walk-off RBI single against the Houston Astros during the tenth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

The Cincinnati Reds added outfield depth when they traded for Austin Slater on Monday morning.

They gave up left-handed relief pitcher Alex Young to land the veteran. Let’s take a deeper look at what Slater brings to Cincinnati.

The 2024 season has not been kind to Slater. His batting average (.200) and home run total (one) will tell you that. The downturn has been surprising though, as his last three years have been solid.

Slater appeared in 374 games from 2020 through 2023, posting a batting average of .258, an on-base percentage of .352, and a slugging percentage of .421 in 942 plate appearances. He also had an 11% walk rate, which is nearly 3% higher than league average.

This year, beyond his overall struggles, he has weird reverse-splits. He hits right-handed pitchers better than left-handers. For his career he has a .284 average against lefties, but this year it’s down to .174. It's reasonable to expect that to change, since we're dealing with a small sample size this season.

He also has good bat speed according to baseball savant, but hasn’t been getting barrels. Usually, Slater has a barrel rate around 10-11%. This year it’s at 3.2%. I think that is more of an outlier and will figure itself out. Calling Great American Ballpark home may help out his numbers too.

Defensively he is fine in the outfield. He won’t be a gold glove candidate, but he won’t hurt you either. He's versatile enough to play all three spots.

This is a trade the Reds had to make. Having a fourth left-handed relief pitcher was not going to help them when they only had a few healthy outfielders. With a unit that has underperformed as much as the Reds outfield, change is needed.

It's reasonable to think Slater can help stabilize the ship and hopefully this is the first of multiple moves that the Reds front office makes between now and the trade deadline.

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