Newly added veteran outfielder bats leadoff in Marlins Opening Day win

Veteran outfielder Austin Slater joined the Marlins as a free agent at the end of spring training after the Detroit Tigers released him. He batted leadoff on Opening Day with the strategy of the veteran right fielder matching up against Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland. 

“Austin has for a number of years put together just really high quality at-bats versus left, been a performer versus left,” said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, who mentioned pregame that the thought was to “try to bank him as many plate appearances today as we can.”

The strategy didn’t work out, as Slater went 0-for-3 against Freeland. He did however, contribute defensively in a clutch way when he threw Jake McCarthy out at home plate to help the Marlins win 2-1 on Friday 

Typically, Slater has fared better against southpaws over the course of his decade-long career. All five of his home runs last year were against left-handers, he batted .288 against them in 2023. From 2020-22, his prime years, Slater batted .285 against left-handed pitching through a total of 209 games. 

Slater, drawing from his experience with the Chicago White Sox last year, explained to reporters on Wednesday his excitement about being a veteran on a young team like Miami. 

“Being on a young team and being able to help guys out in any way I can, whether it’s tips or just mindset or whatever it might be, I find that really exciting,” Slater said. “And also the opportunity to play and contribute on a big league team.”

In a pregame interview with Tyler Boronski on Friday, Slater said he liked what he saw from the Marlins when he played against them last year as a newly acquired member of the New York Yankees. The Marlins swept the Yankees to reach the .500 mark entering August. 

“I just remember the energy that the guys played with on the other side,” Slater said. “It’s a hard team to beat. The Yankees, when I was with them, we were trying to make a playoff run and we just ran into a brick wall. I think if we can bring that kind of intensity this year to every game, every series, we’re gonna have a lot of success.”

Slater spent the first eight seasons of his big league career with the San Francisco Giants. His best season came in 2021 under then-manager Gabe Kapler, who is now the Marlins general manager. Slater, who hit 12 home runs and stole 15 bases in 129 games for a San Francisco squad that won 107 games, said he has “a lot of trust with him and some friendship over the years.” 

“Gabe’s a great communicator. He’s gonna shoot you straight,” Slater said. “It’s nice to have someone like that not only in your corner but who’s gonna give you honest feedback.”

Signing Slater comes after star outfielder Kyle Stowers entered the 10-day injured list on Sunday due to a hamstring injury. There are no guarantees upon how the Marlins outfield depth will look upon his return.