Austin Slater said being traded is \u201calways bittersweet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The outfielder was dealt twice last season \u2014 from San Francisco to Cincinnati and then from Cincinnati to Baltimore. He was on the move again Wednesday after the Chicago White Sox traded him to the New York Yankees for minor-league right-handed pitcher Gage Ziehl.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally enjoyed my time here and met some incredible people,\u201d Slater said. \u201cSuper fun clubhouse to be in. But then, also really excited to go play for the Yankees. One of those teams as a kid you always dream about playing for. And they are right in a race for the playoffs. Excited to go there and try to help them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slater, who signed a one-year deal with the Sox in the offseason<\/a>, slashed .236\/.299\/.423 with six doubles, five home runs, 11 RBIs and 20 runs in 51 games. He missed time after undergoing surgery in April to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee<\/a>. Slater retroactively went on the IL on April 11, had the surgery on April 15 and returned on May 19.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunate about the injury, you never want to get injured,\u201d Slater said. \u201cMissed a little more time than I had hoped. But I thought I came in and did my job. Why they signed me was to hit left-handed pitchers and I feel like I\u2019ve done that pretty well this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still room for improvement always, but I\u2019m excited to bring those skills over to the Yankees and continue that trend.\u201d<\/p>\n Slater, 33, has a .261\/.338\/.522 slash line with five home runs and eight RBIs against left-handers this season.<\/p>\n \u201cAustin was great for us,\u201d Sox manager Will Venable said. \u201cWe appreciated all his contributions, certainly on the field and in the clubhouse, especially with our young group to have a veteran presence and a guy with his experience and just a great guy that was willing to put young guys under his arm and really help our group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to miss Austin, but excited for him and his opportunity to play for a contender down the stretch here.\u201d<\/p>\n Slater said last year\u2019s moves helped his family prepare for the possibility of another trade.<\/p>\n \u201cThat adjustment period for us was kind of last year, I got traded twice in the same year,\u201d Slater said. \u201cAt this point, we\u2019re a little more prepared than we were last year. It was something, there was always writing on the wall that it could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n He leaves a team in the Sox that he saw growing.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some really exciting players in this clubhouse and some guys who can be building blocks for this organization moving forward,\u201d Slater said. \u201cHopefully I was able to help a little bit. And wishing them the best.\u201d<\/p>\n Ziehl, 22, went 5-4 with a 4.15 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 16 games (14 starts) this season with Class A Tampa, Double-A Somerset and Class A Hudson Valley. A fourth-round selection in the 2024 MLB draft out of the University of Miami, Ziehl was rated by MLB.com as the No. 18 prospect in the Yankees organization.<\/p>\n With Slater\u2019s departure, the Sox recalled outfielder Will Robertson<\/a> from Triple-A Charlotte.<\/p>\n The Sox could be active at the trade deadline, which ends at 5 p.m. Thursday. The club made a change for Wednesday\u2019s scheduled starter against the Philadelphia Phillies, going with Tyler Alexander instead of Adrian Houser.<\/p>\n