Special Assistant to the General Manager, Player Procurement
Matt Slater joined the Cardinals in 2007 and was named Special Assistant to the General Manager, Player Procurement in December 2017 after previously serving as the club’s Director of Player Personnel for seven seasons.
Slater is in his 31st year in Major League Baseball where over the course of his career, he has helped build division winners and playoff teams in Baltimore, Los Angeles and St. Louis including the 2011 World Series Champion Cardinals. Throughout his three decade career, Slater has been a member of twelve playoff teams and two World Series participants.
In his current role as senior talent evaluator, Slater works hand in hand with the President and General Manager in all player acquisitions including Major League, minor league, amateur draft and international talent. Furthermore, he aids in contract negotiations and roster composition.
For the past 17 years, Matt has served as a consultant to the Orix Buffaloes Baseball Club of Nippon Professional Baseball - winners of the 2022 NPB Championship. In addition, Slater continues to push the Cardinal organization forward in the emerging player procurement markets of Asia and Cuba.
Prior to joining the Cardinals, Slater served in various management capacities for the Los Angeles Dodgers for nine years, including Director of Scouting Operations, Director of Baseball Operations and Director of Professional Scouting. With the Dodgers, he oversaw scouting operations while also being involved with contract negotiations, arbitration and roster management. He worked with the Baltimore Orioles from 1995-98 as the Administrator of Scouting. Slater got his start in professional baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers when he was 19 years old. Beginning in 1991, he served as the Brewers’ Scouting and Player Development Assistant.
A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Slater graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1993, with a degree in Business Administration – Organizational Management, and holds a law degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, Calif. He serves on the board of directors for Independence Center, a non-profit mental health facility in St. Louis. He resides in Chesterfield, Mo., with his wife, Thomasine, and their three children, Brandon (22), Madison (19) and Jacob (19).