White Sox Activate Outfielder Austin Slater From Injured List
CHICAGO – Austin Slater feared his season was over.
While stretching before a game, he heard and felt a pop in his knee. Imaging revealed a slight meniscus tear in his right knee, and he was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to April 11.
Following surgery and a rehab assignment in Triple-A that began last Tuesday, Slater returned the White Sox lineup for Monday's 6:40 p.m. CT game against the Seattle Mariners at Rate Field. He's batting seventh and playing left field after a quick recovery.
"Way faster than I thought," Slater said pregame. "I think when I initially hurt it, I was like, 'Oh, that's my season.' That was my initial reaction. So pleasantly surprised by the recovery time I would say."
Slater said he was originally given a recovery timeline of three to six weeks, which he took as positive news.
"I was definitely discouraged when it happened, but when I heard about the timeline being relatively quick, that kind of gave me a little bit of an energy boost to really get after it and be well within that timeline of coming back," Slater said. "The longer the absence, the harder sometimes it is to self motivate. So luckily this was a short stint."
Slater appeared in four games for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights during his rehab assignment. In 17 plate appearances, he notched five hits, three runs, a double, two RBI, four walks and three strikeouts. That's good for a .388 batting average and a .991 OPS.
Slater hasn't been an everyday player the last three seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. So he said the rehab assignment was more about feeling healthy and not necessarily worrying about getting his timing down at the plate.
While he's feeling good enough to play, he's still waiting to feel like himself again.
"Hopefully soon. Not quite there, but I think there's no risk of injury," Slater said. "I'm rebounding better and better each day and I feel like I can run 100 percent. It's gonna be something that I'm going to continue to deal with for a little bit. But hopefully it won't really impede my game much at all."
"At least from the last week of rehab, I think it's gonna be more of a mental hurdle than a physical hurdle of trusting my body that I can make certain moves and do what I've done before. There's still a little bit of a strength component to it that I have to get back. But I feel pretty close."
Slater was off to a solid start with the White Sox prior to his injury, hitting a home run on Opening Day and batting .250 through eight games. The nine-year MLB veteran and eighth round pick out of Stanford had his most productive season in 2022 from a wins above replacement standpoint, accumulating 1.6. That season, he totaled seven home runs, 34 RBI and 12 stolen bases to go along with a .264 batting average and a .774 OPS.
White Sox manager Will Venable shared pregame what he's hoping to see from Slater.
"Just to be himself. A guy who's got a lot of experience in this league, knows how to handle every situation," Venable said. "Tough matchup for him coming back against [Luis] Castillo, but excited to have him in there. You know he's going to have good at-bats and give us a chance to win."
On an otherwise young ball club, Slater's veteran presence could help through the ups and downs of the season.
"It's just about stability, going out and making plays and not riding the emotional wave of good things and bad things that happen in every game and in this league," Venable said. "Just having someone that's been there and has that comfortability of being in every situation that there is."
With Slater returning to the White Sox, utility man Brooks Baldwin has been optioned to Triple-A. In 142 plate appearances, he totaled three home runs, 16 RBI, two stolen bases, seven walks and 38 strikeouts with a .215/.257/.331/.588 OPS.
Baldwin played the most games at left field, 24, but also logged innings at center field, right field, second base, third base and shortstop. Venable said they want to maintain Baldwin's defensive versatility on the infield and outfield corners, while exposing him to center field and shortstop a bit more.
"He did a great job. Baldwin's been asked to do a lot really early in his career," Venable said. "And so with some of these guys coming back and getting healthy, it's going to be a little less playing time. And he's at a point in his career where he really needs to play. ... We just think really highly of him and want to give him a chance to have everyday at-bats."
Related stories on the Chicago White Sox
- CROSSTOWN TAKEAWAYS: The Cubs swept the White Sox in the first series of the 2025 Crosstown Classic by a combined score of 26-8. Here are three takeaways. CLICK HERE
Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack