The White Sox announced today that outfielder Luis Robert Jr. has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Infielder Tristan Gray has been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte as the corresponding move.
It’s now down to these last few weeks. Robert has been an obvious trade candidate for a long time but the window has been closing and is almost shut. He is in the final guaranteed year of his contract. There are $20MM club options for next year and 2027 but he’s going to get a $2MM buyout at the end of this year.
Robert is capable of excellent production, or at least was. Injuries have often gotten in his way but he got into 145 games in 2023. He hit 38 home runs, stole 20 bases and received strong grades for his center field defense. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 4.9 wins above replacement that year.
Despite Robert’s efforts, the Sox went into a rebuild mode that year. They traded short-term assets at the deadline and then remade their front office before the offseason. Going into 2024, they traded controllable players like Dylan Cease, Aaron Bummer and Gregory Santos but Robert stayed.
At the time, it seemed like there was no rush. Robert still had two guaranteed years left on his deal, plus the two options, which seemed like bargains back then. Four years of a potentially elite player seemed like a massive asset and the Sox set a high asking price in trade talks.
Much has changed since then, none of it for the better. Robert had another injury-marred season in 2024, getting into just 100 games. When on the field, he produced a subpar .224/.278/.379 batting line, which translated to a wRC+ of 84. The Sox could have traded him again in the most recent offseason but didn’t want to sell low.
It was understandable to hope for a bounceback but the gambit hasn’t paid off. His performance has been even worse this year than it was last year. He currently sports a line of .185/.270/.313, which leads to a 63 wRC+. He is still stealing bases and getting good marks for his glovework but he’s been bad at the plate for well over a year now.
The ongoing health issues don’t help. That aforementioned 2023 season is the only time he’s played more than 100 games. He may get beyond that figure here in 2025 but has battled various nagging issues, including right knee soreness, right thumb soreness and left hamstring soreness.
He had avoided the IL until recently but the Sox finally put him there just over a week ago, listing his issue as a left hamstring strain. They were able to backdate the IL stint by three days since Robert had already been missing games.
Now Robert has close to no trade value left, unless he can quickly show glimpses of his past self in the next few weeks. Ideally, this little breather has allowed him to get over all his ailments and into good form. Even if that does come to pass, teams will surely remain wary of his health woes and inconsistency, which will tamp down the potential return the Sox can get.
Robert is making $15MM this year, which will leave about $5MM left to be paid out when the deadline rolls around. There’s also a $2MM buyout on his $20MM option for next year. The Sox are reportedly willing to include cash to facilitate a deal but Robert will likely still have to show some life in the next little while for the Sox to get anything notable.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
So, replacing a guy with a 110 wRC+ with a guy who has a 63 wRC+. I guess the Sox were winning too many games and needed to get rid of their productive player.
I keep hearing Roberts name in trade talks. It’s easier to trade a guy if you can display him as healthy.
@JSC Cubbs
He’s had many years to showcase and hasn’t been even close to league average.
Need to get him back in the showcase if you’re going to get anything in a trade.
A 110 wRC+ in 62 games played and 238 PA’s at AAA Charlotte?
Tristan Gray is 29-years old. He never made an appearance with the White Sox and his brief MLB career prior to joining Chicago has amounted to virtually nothing.
@Aaron Sapoznik
Stop calling me out on stuff I don’t understand… 😀
I guess they called up Gray knowing he would be immediately sent down- thus not using up someone else’s trip to and from the minors. Not sure how many a player can have but Baldwin has to be close.
Pretty sure a player can only be option 5 times during a season.
Correctamundo
Someone will take a chace, but whatever they get for Robert will be a fraction of what they could have gotten last off season. Getz and the White Sox blew it — big time.
Getz held off after Robert had a fantastic 2023 season. Why, I have no idea, the team was already in the toilet. Now, it’s not going to be great prospects, probably lottery tickets and that’s as best it’ll probably get…
Maybe Getz did try to trade him and no team would meet Getz’s offer.
That’s exactly what happened. Getz always asks for way too much when he tries to trade someone. However, it did work out with the Crochet trade.
The only way they trade this guy is if they pay off the majority of of his contract.
$5 million left this season with 2 $20 million options or a $2 million buyout. There’s no real money left to pay because if he gets traded it’s up to the acquiring team if they want to keep him going forward
People love the speedy centre fielder w pop. The trend never dies.
If he can’t stay healthy, he will struggle to replicate the career WAR of Kevin Pillar.
That’s not a knock on Kevin. Blue Jay love.
Actually, he’s like a poor man’s Buxton. Nice talent, but frustrating has heck. Between 2001-2003, he averaged 5.8 bWAR/162 games.
I wonder if moving him to a corner would help stave of injuries even a little. Might just be another guy that can just never stay healthy, in which case buyer beware next winter
Easier, more obvious solution would be to play him only against lefties, who he is hitting well. That solves both the injury and the non-productive issues.
A player needs to want to play in order to be attractive to another team. This quality eliminates LRJ
No one is paying 7m for two months. There is nothing to get other than a lottery ticket. They would be lucky to get out of the buyout and get a A level player in exchange. They are sending the 5m with him unless they take back another contract.
The $7M is real cheap for a player with two team options. If he doesn’t produce, or gets injured, you cut him at a loss of $7M. If he does produce, you pick up the option.
Someone will trade for him. And it should be Philly.
JoeBrady.. Generally correct, but not in this case.. The options are for $20 million each. With his track record, no one is picking up that option, even once, no matter how well he performs for those last two months. There’s simply too great a risk that he regresses or gets hurt again and again and again. He’s going to be viewed as a rental player by any interested teams.
Obviously they aren’t getting anything back in return if they trade him. I say you pick up his option for next year. Maybe, maybe, he catches fire and then builds up a little value. Move him to a corner OF to protect him a bit. IDK….such a damn waste.
south: No way in hell Reinsdorf is paying anyone $20m even if that player is Ohtani.
The last thing he would do would be a ridiculous gamble for $20 mil. On Robert.
The 2026 payroll might only be $20 mil.
I thought a team needed to reach a minimum payroll amount to make sure there aren’t draft pick penalties??? If so, if you HAVE to spend money, then why not
That ship has sailed, south side.. the Sox need to cut bait on him, no matter how little the return.. The chances of him netting a much bigger return next year are not worth the $20M investment. Defensively capable CFs are in short supply. A wealthy contender who needs one will take him. And he is hitting lefties well this year.
For the record, earlier reports before his injury said that the Sox were willing to pay down some of his salary in order to net a bigger return.
Somewhere in there is a deal that can work.