Mariners acquire INF Jake Slaughter for RHP Tyson Miller

A corner infielder with surprising speed is coming to Seattle in exchange for Tyson Miller

When Bryan Woo returned to the Mariners, the club DFA’d RHP Tyson Miller to make room for Woo, as he didn’t have options left. Miller has been solid filling in in Seattle’s depleted ‘pen, striking out 12 batters and walking just one in 11.2 innings of work, so it was very likely a team would jump on the opportunity to claim him. Yesterday the Cubs opted to jump the waiver claim line by trading for Miller, sending corner infielder Jake Slaughter back to Seattle.

Slaughter was a late-round draft choice by the Cubs in the 2018 draft out of LSU. He toiled in the lower minors of the Cubs system for several years, hitting adequately but carrying the dreaded “old for the level” label. Finally, he had a breakout season in 2022 after being sent to extended spring training to begin the season, working with Cubs hitting coaches at their Arizona complex to make a slight adjustment with his setup and swing aimed at getting him to put the ball in the air more.

That tweak paid off enormously, as Slaughter finally slugged like a corner infielder needs to, walloping 23 home runs across two levels. He repeated that performance in Triple-A in 2023, with 22 homers, before tapering off a little on that torrid pace this year; he has five so far in a repeat bid at Triple-A. But even while slowing up his home run pace some, Slaughter is actually a better hitter all around, hitting for a better average while cutting his strikeout rate down to a manageable sub-25%.

Despite his corner-slugger profile, Slaughter also brings some sneaky speed on the bases; he already has more steals than noted Mariners speedster Jonatan Clase with 10 (although to be fair, Clase missed a couple weeks during his big-league stint) and he swiped 16 last season in his first year at Triple-A and an impressive 36 the year before. He’s also put in time in improving his defense at third base, although he’s played all around the field:

Slaughter draws praise from coaches and fellow players alike as a hard worker who isn’t afraid to make changes to improve. He’ll grind out at-bats, take his walks, and find ways to impact the game even when he’s not hitting, making him a solid match for a team Scott Servais calls “the hardest working” he’s ever managed. For now, you can see the Mariners’ newest acquisition in Tacoma: the Rainiers are beginning a six-game homestand today, running through the weekend.