BOSTON -- The Red Sox got a key weapon back in their bullpen on Saturday with the activation of setup man Justin Slaten from the 15-day IL.
The righty had been out since April 5 with a right oblique strain.
“Any time that you're down, it sucks,” said Slaten. “It felt like the longest month of my life. But yeah, I'm happy to be back.”
With Slaten back in the mix, interim manager Chad Tracy has a steady seventh-inning reliever to use in high-leverage situations in front of Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman. To make room for Slaten on the roster, the Red Sox optioned righty Jack Anderson to Triple-A Worcester.
“I think everybody knows that when Slate's healthy and in the bullpen, between him, Whitlock and Chappy, we're going to rely on those guys at the back end of the bullpen,” Tracy said. “When you add Slaten into the bullpen, it slides some really good arms maybe back a little earlier in the game, and the ability in your mind, like, can you start shortening the game? So having that, especially on a day where you look up and all three of them are available, you shorten the game.”
This is the third time in Slaten’s three seasons with the Red Sox he’s been on the injured list. The ailment has been different each time.
“Yeah, to be honest, it never gets any easier. If anything, it gets worse,” Slaten said. “The first time you're on [the IL], you're optimistic, like, ‘Hey, this is what we’ve got to do to get back.’ And that's just it. This time, it's like, ‘God, I'm doing this again?’ So it never gets any easier. But having done it before, it does make it a little bit more like -- I know what I have to do to get back. So I'm just able to come in and just try to keep a positive mindset and attack every day the same.”
Slaten made two appearances on his Minor League rehab assignment, and was lights-out in both of them, throwing at 97 mph in the most recent one on Wednesday.
“Yeah, I felt really good. I felt really good at Somerset on that outing [before],” said Slaten. “Felt really good in Worcester. Felt good in bullpens. So, yeah, everything feels really good right now.”