Former SF Giants outfielder joins his fourth team in the past year

Former SF Giants outfielder Austin Slater was drafted by San Francisco and played with the Giants from 2017 to 2024. Since the Giants traded him, he has bounced around a lot and has just landed with the Chicago White Sox.

Slater has reportedly signed a major league deal with the White Sox which is probably a good situation for him since he will have a better chance at playing time on a bad team like the White Sox. He also probably would have had to settle for a minor league deal if he wanted to play for a better team.

Former SF Giants outfielder Austin Slater joins the White Sox

The Stanford product was the longest-tenured player on the Giants last season before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. At his best, he was a strong defensive outfielder who could absolutely rake against lefties. 2021 was probably his best year with the Giants as he his 12 home runs and 32 RBI and mastered his role as a guy who could come off the bench and get hits against lefties in big moments.

He also gained favor among Giants fans for his willingness to go to bat for the city of San Francisco. When the narrative around the city would turn negative and be a talking point whenever the Giants missed out on free agents, Slater talked about why he loved the city.

When he was traded to the Reds he did not last very long, only appearing in 8 games and recording just 2 hits. He was then traded to the Baltimore Orioles where he at least got to partake in a fun AL East race against the New York Yankees. With Baltimore, he slashed .246/.342/.333 with one homer and 6 RBI in 33 games. He had two at-bats in the AL Wild Card series against the Kansas City Royals and got one hit.

About to turn 32, we will have to see how much Slater has left in the tank. We know what he can do at his best, but as time catches up with him and he gets injured more it will be tougher for him to establish a rhythm at the plate especially when he is not an everyday player to begin with.

No matter what, he was a good Giant for the 7 years he was with the team and we should wish him nothing but the best as he continues his career in Chicago with the fourth different team he has been on in the past year.