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.

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.

Yesterday, the Pinstripes traded right-handed pitcher Gage Ziehl to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Austin Slater, who is making his first appearance as a Yankee today against the Tampa Bay Rays for the final game of a four-game series. Slater will hit seventh in the lineup and play right field.