Yankees give up promising pitching prospect to trade for Austin Slater from White Sox

The New York Yankees wanted another right-handed bat, and they got one on Wednesday.

They're bringing in outfielder Austin Slater in a trade with the White Sox. His career OPS vs. left-handed pitching is .798, so he can certainly serve as a short-side platoon option for the Yanks.

To get Slater, the Yankees had to give up minor league righty Gage Ziehl. Ziehl was the No. 18 prospect on Baseball America's midseason Yankees prospects list.

Ziehl was a fourth-round pick by the Yankees in 2024 and was just called up from Single-A to High-A.

In his High-A debut with Hudson Valley, Ziehl allowed just one run in four innings while striking out three hitters.

Overall in his minor league career, Ziehl has a 4.15 ERA with a 5-4 record.

Ziehl is a hard-throwing righty who spent time in college at Miami as the Hurricanes' closer, but the Yankees clearly felt he had starter ability by using him that way so far in his career.

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Before college, Ziehl was a New York state high school star. He's from Penfield, just east of Rochester, and in his senior season, he struck out 91 of the 135 batters he faced and allowed just one run (0.17 ERA).

Fittingly, Ziehl joins a White Sox organization that also features Casey Saucke, the former Virginia star who was chosen in the fourth round last year. Saucke played in the Rochester area as well, for Greece Athena, in the same class as Ziehl.

Now, Ziehl will have a chance to climb the ladder in the Chicago system alongside Saucke.

The Yankees get a short-term gain in Slater. How well Ziehl progresses will determine how this trade ages in the bigger picture.

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