Tigers' quiet addition after Justin Verlander exposes mistake in Guardians' approach

Earlier today the Detroit Tigers took a huge step toward being true contenders in 2026 by signing Justin Verlander in free agency to reinforce their starting rotation. 

That wasn’t the only move they made, as the Tigers also signed outfielder Austin Slater to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

And while Slater clearly isn’t the same kind of player as a future Hall of Famer in Verlander, his signing with the Tigers stings just as much as Verlander’s signing because of how clearly Slater could have helped the Guardians. 

Tigers sign dream Guardians outfield target to minor league target 

Slater’s coming off a subpar 2025 season where he hit just .216 across 61 games with the White Sox and Yankees. 

But the biggest thing that Slater brings to the table is his platoon advantage, as he’s a right-handed hitter who has feasted off left-handed pitching in his career.

Although he only had a .224 average against southpaws last season, he has a career .267 against them in his career and is just two seasons removed from posting a .288 batting average against southpaws. 

Although Slater’s been in the big leagues for nearly 10 years, he’s only had two seasons where he’s played in more than 100 games, which is a tangible example of how much of a platoon option he is. 

He’s never been an everyday option, but he’s one of the best platoon options and was seemingly available for the cheap in the offseason.

In other words, he was the perfect free agent target for the Guardians. Last season, Guardians outfielders hit just .223 overall and .222 against left-handed pitching, and seem set to go into 2026 with an outfield picture that only has one right-handed hitter (Johnathan Rodríguez). 

And while that picture should be better next season thanks to Chase DeLauter and George Valera getting more playing time, some kind of addition seemed like a clear need. 

Even if the Guardians didn’t want to put anyone in the way of those young players, Slater offered the best of both words in that he hits from the right side and wouldn’t demand everyday playing time. 

Slater would have been a great fit for the Guardians on a big league contract, but would have been an even better fit if he was signed to a minor league contract similar to the one he signed with the Tigers. 

The Guardians made one move to add to their outfield depth by signing the right-handed hitting Stuart Fairchild to a minor league deal, but Slater is arguably a better and more impressive option. 

Slater signing anywhere other than Cleveland would have been annoying, but the fact he signed a minor league deal with the Tigers takes that annoyance to another level.