White Sox Notes: Robert, Taylor

Since being activated from the 10-day injured list following a minor hamstring strain, Luis Robert Jr. has hit .982 OPS over his last 43 plate appearances, only adding to the speculation that he’ll be traded at the deadline.  This hot streak has lifted Robert’s season-long wRC+ to only 77, but since he is continuing to mash left-handed pitching, rack up stolen bases, and display decent glovework in center field, there is more longer-term evidence beyond just the last couple of weeks that Robert could be a valuable asset to a potential trade suitor.

Though Robert has been mentioned in trade rumors for years, and the White Sox have maintained a high asking price on the outfielder even as he struggled through an injury-marred 2024 season and delivered little at the plate for most of the 2025 campaign.  Robert is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, but since Chicago holds $20MM club options on Robert for both 2026 and 2027, the Sox are “operating as if they will have [Robert] under contract for two more years,” FanSided’s Robert Murray writes.  As such, Murray also hears from sources that the White Sox “are not operating with a ’get something while we can stance.’ ”

Some gamesmanship could obviously be at play here, as naturally it hurts Chicago’s leverage if the club is even hinting at any desperation to move Robert before the deadline.  It was also a little over a month ago that the White Sox were reportedly offering to include some money in trades for Robert or Andrew Benintendi to help offset their salaries, and if the club is still operating with this mindset, that is more clearer evidence that the Sox would probably prefer to move Robert sooner rather than later.

Robert’s struggles over the last two seasons have left Sox GM Chris Getz in a tough spot, as he has been unable to find an acceptably high return for a player who (on paper) is one of Chicago’s best trade assets.  Coming off an All-Star season in 2023, Robert’s contractual control was seen as a major plus, yet those $20MM club options now loom as complicated decisions for the White Sox and any teams who may be interested in swinging a deal by July 31.  Those option years make Robert more than a rental in Getz’s eyes, but other clubs might only be willing to give up relatively little for a player they might not view as a long-term piece.

If the Sox really are viewing Robert as a player controlled through 2027, it adds credence to the idea that the team will exercise at least the first of those options.  With a $2MM buyout involved, picking up the option is an $18MM decision for the White Sox, and seemingly a pretty steep price for such an inconsistent player.  Such a scenario would seem more likely if Robert were to keep hitting well over the season’s final two months, but that isn’t something the White Sox can count on as we sit within a week of the trade deadline.  Not trading Robert by July 31 and then declining the club option, however, would mean that Chicago would be lose Robert for nothing.

One player who seems far less likely to be moved at the deadline is Grant Taylor, the rookie right-hander who has a 3.93 ERA over his first 18 1/3 Major League innings.  A source tells The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that rival teams have been “all over” the Sox about Taylor’s availability, yet the team has barely been willing to even entertain these offers for obvious reasons.

A second-round pick for Chicago in the 2023 draft, Taylor made his big league debut on June 10 and has already opened a lot of eyes around baseball.  A .341 BABIP and a low 61.9% strand rate could account for Taylor’s uninspiring ERA, as his SIERA is a much more impressive 2.50.  Taylor also has a 31.5% strikeout rate, an 8.2% walk rate, and a fastball that averages 99mph.

With a Tommy John surgery and a significant lat strain already on Taylor’s health history, he has logged only 64 1/3 pro innings to date, as the White Sox have eased him into game action primarily as a reliever.  He has appeared in relief in 14 of his 15 big league games, with his lone “start” coming as an opener.  Taylor has already recorded three saves, so a future as a closer might be in the cards if starting pitching doesn’t work out.  Until the White Sox know what they have in Taylor, it doesn’t make sense for the rebuilding club to move such an intriguing long-term building block, even if it seems like Chicago could already land a massive trade return if Taylor was moved in the near future.