White Sox outfielder undergoes meniscus surgery

White Sox outfielder Austin Slater underwent surgery to address a meniscus tear in his right knee on Tuesday, the team informed reporters (including Scott Merkin of MLB.com). He’ll be sidelined for four to six weeks.

Slater went on the injured list over the weekend. The right-handed hitter has appeared in eight games this season. He’s started 5-20 with a home run and a couple doubles. The Sox have given him 10 plate appearances against right-handed and left-handed opponents alike. He’s mostly been a short-side platoon bat throughout his career. Slater is a .270/.362/.431 hitter against southpaws. He has fanned in 33% of plate appearances against righty pitching, putting up a .230/.316/.334 slash.

The White Sox made a handful of modest one-year free-agent pickups over the offseason. Slater was the first of those additions. He signed for a $1.75M guarantee with another $500K in performance bonuses. The incentives range from 50 to 100 games and 100 to 300 plate appearances, so he could unlock most or all of those bonuses as long as his rehab process goes as expected.

Slater is one of three outfielders on Chicago’s injured list. They’re also without Andrew Benintendi and Mike Tauchman for the moment. Michael A. Taylor is playing every day in left field. Lefty-swinging Joshua Palacios and switch-hitter Brooks Baldwin have been operating as a right-field platoon.