3:10pm: Getz tells James Fegan of Sox Machine that Robert has a Grade 2 strain and could be done for the year. When asked about the injury impacting the decision to pick up his option, Getz said “We’re committed to Luis.”
2:16pm: The White Sox announced Wednesday that outfielder Luis Robert Jr. is headed to the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. Fellow outfielder Will Robertson has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take his spot on the active roster. The team has not yet provided a timetable for Robert’s potential return.
Chicago surprised many by opting to hold onto Robert prior to last month’s trade deadline. The former top prospect had tanked much of the value he’d built up in a brilliant 2023 campaign by floundering through a miserable 2024 season and failing to turn things around through the current season’s first two months. Robert began hitting well in early June after being benched for a few days, and that led to the general expectation that he’d be traded after all.
Instead, the Sox hung onto Robert and signaled that they might be willing to pick up the first of a pair of $20MM club options on his contract. There was plenty of risk in that approach, as a downturn at the plate or significant injury could create some reluctance to do so. There’s no indication that the current injury is expected to necessitate a long-term absence, but it’s another knock on the oft-injured Robert, who has now been placed on the major league injured list seven times since midway through the 2021 season. He’s played 521 of 780 possible games since 2021 (66.7%).
As for the questions regarding his offensive production, Robert has fared better since the trade deadline than he did in 2024 or the first two months of the current season, but his production hasn’t been as strong as it was in late June or throughout all of July. He’s hitting .256/.287/.402 this month, bringing him to a collective .274/.335/.458 in 198 plate appearances since June 10.
Perhaps that production — and any that he can muster if he returns from the IL prior to season’s end — will indeed be enough for the White Sox to roll the dice on his club option. While it’s a steep price to pay for a rebound candidate, Robert’s 2023 season provided a glimpse at his stratospheric ceiling, and picking up the option keeps an identically priced 2027 club option in play.
The rebuilding White Sox have virtually nothing on next year’s books. Andrew Benintendi is the only player on a guaranteed contract, and their only three arbitration-eligible players are Mike Tauchman, Dan Altavilla and Steven Wilson. There’s ample payroll space available to take a chance on Robert at a net $18MM price point. (The option has a $2MM buyout.) If Robert’s first half of 2026 looks more like his midsummer production from 2025, then the Sox could yet salvage some trade value from their former star. At the same time, it’s also plausible that injuries and/or deteriorated offensive skills continue to dog Robert — but that increasingly seems like a chance GM Chris Getz and his staff are comfortable taking.
