Arriving from Chicago, Slater was placed on the Yankees' active roster about an hour before Wednesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, with lefty-hitting catcher-first baseman J.C. Escarra optioned to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees’ new addition — acquired Wednesday from the White Sox ahead of the MLB trade deadline — was immediately in the lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Rays in The Bronx. He started in right field and batted seventh.

Yankees make surprising roster decision to activate Austin Slater originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Wednesday came with another roster move. And once again, Oswald Peraza survived. In what shouldn’t be a surprise, the New York Yankees chose to option backup catcher J.C. Escarra to Triple-A rather than have to cut ties with Peraza.