Saved by the bell, Austin Slater goes to a contender in New York

Yankees get the veteran, and the White Sox receive RHP Gage Ziehl

Kicking off their trade deadline activity, the Chicago White Sox have traded outfielder Austin Slater to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league righthander Gage Ziehl.

Slater, 32, provides the Yankees with immediate outfield depth and a clutch bat against southpaws, a career-long strength for him. This season, his first with the White Sox, Slater was slashing .236/.299/.423 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in 51 games. His ability to play all three outfield positions and his veteran presence will be a welcome addition for a Yankees team looking to bolster its roster, especially with the recent injury to rightfielder Aaron Judge.

For the White Sox, this move aligns with their focus on acquiring young high-upside talent. Ziehl, 22, was ranked as the Yankees’ No. 18 prospect by MLB Pipeline and was a fourth-round pick (No. 119) in the 2024 MLB Draft out of the University of Miami. In his first professional season across three levels (Single-A Tampa, High-A Hudson Valley, and Double-A Somerset), Ziehl has posted a combined 5-4 record with a 4.15 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 82 1⁄3 innings across 16 games (15 starts). This trade allows the White Sox to add yet another controllable arm to their growing stable of pitching prospects.

Chicago doesn’t yet have any outfield prospects ready for the big leagues, so the corresponding move is recalling Will Robertson from Charlotte. The South Siders acquired the 27-year-old outfielder from the Toronto Blue Jays on July 10. After the trade, Robertson was with the Sox for eight days before being sent down to the Knights. He played in four games with six at-bats and didn’t get a hit.