The Tampa Bay Rays should be looking to beef up their outfield production next season. Chandler Simpson, Josh Lowe, and Jake Mangum represent a competent floor, but the Rays could look to add more outfielders. The priority should be finding a player who provides a big bat and passable defense. Bleacher Report writer Joel Reuter named the Rays as a potential suitor for Austin Slater in free agency.
Rays Could Scoop Up Ex-Yankee Austin Slater for Outfield Help
Slater, 32, slashed .216/.270/.372 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 65 games between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. The Yankees acquired the native Floridian at the trade deadline while they were missing the services of Aaron Judge due to an injury. He was acquired as a part-time player who would need to bash left-handed pitching in order to play every day in the lineup. True to form, Slater basically never started and contributed nothing except as a defensive replacement late in games, although that did include taking the mound.
Austin Slater pitched like he was trying to lightly bounce a baseball off a turtle pic.twitter.com/rZ93VROLiE
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 12, 2025
Reuter bluntly stated that the Rays should be looking for outfield upgrades this winter. He further illuminated his thoughts when he wrote, “A low-cost platoon bat with defensive value from the bargain bin is their most likely target.”
Rays Brass is On Board
The Rays must find a way to add more punch to their lineup in 2026. Pitching is great, but the Rays were almost too healthy from a starting rotation perspective. It would be ridiculous to expect continued health, and the Rays must find other ways to win ballgames. Rays President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander was asked about the composition of the club’s outfield and seemed to identify the outfield grass as something that needs improvement.
“…When you look at our outfield production in total, that’s something, by championship-caliber standards, that we need to find a way to certainly create more power and run production out of that group,” Neander said at a season-ending press conference in late September.
The Current Fit
The cleanest fit could be substituting Christoper Morel for Slater. Morel has struggled mightily in a Rays uniform and could benefit from a change of scenery. He’s arbitration-eligible and seems like an obvious non-tender candidate this winter. Morel only hit .221 in 159 plate appearances against lefties this season and doesn’t offer the cleanest defensive profile. Lowe was another disappointing outfielder, especially his numbers against southpaws. Will the Rays really pay Lowe as a platoon guy at this stage?
The Rays also need more power from their outfield, and it seems highly doubtful that Slater can provide that. Maybe someone like Rob Refsnyder could be a better fit. Refsnyder, 34, has spent the past four seasons bashing left-handed pitching for the Boston Red Sox. He hit over .300 against southpaws this season, along with plenty of power from that side of the plate. Refsnyder is a team-first guy who should be able to provide the leadership that the younger players in the clubhouse are seeking. The Rays should take a shot on players like Refsnyder in order to round out their overall offensive contribution in the outfield.
Main Photo Credit: © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
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