White Sox Open To Offers On Luis Robert, Garrett Crochet
The White Sox are baseball’s worst team by a long shot and seemed to acknowledge that likelihood even before the season began when they traded Dylan Cease to the Padres in spring training. San Diego is already reportedly interested in yet another Sox pitcher, lefty Garrett Crochet, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Sox are open to offers not only on Crochet but on center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Passan categorizes the ChiSox as “open for business” and lists Robert, Crochet, Erick Fedde and virtually all of the team’s short-term veterans as players who could be moved between now and the trade deadline.
Fedde, Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong, Mike Clevinger, John Brebbia, Tim Hill and other players who aren’t signed long-term — Fedde is signed through next season, the others are all free agents this winter — all stood as obvious trade candidates to begin with. I wrote about Fedde’s trade candidacy for MLBTR Front Office subscribers a couple weeks back. DeJong recently said on 670 The Score in Chicago that he and Pham both fully expect to be traded. That anyone from that group is viewed as likely to change hands is only logical.
Names like Robert and Crochet being available is far less certain, even for a rebuilding club like the Sox, given the amount of club control each has remaining. In Robert’s case, he’s signed through the 2027 season in the form of a $12.5MM salary this season, a $15MM salary in 2025 and a pair of club options valued at $20MM apiece (both with a $2MM buyout). Crochet entered the 2024 campaign with three years of big league service, meaning he’s in his first arbitration season and has another pair of seasons of club control beyond 2024.
It bears emphasizing that the Sox being “open” to offers or “willing to trade” either player is far different from the team actively shopping said players. That open-minded approach is also far from a guarantee that either will be moved. The substantial control remaining beyond the current season means Chicago GM Chris Getz will set an enormous asking price on both players, and both will still retain tremendous trade value into the offseason and even into next year’s deadline if a deal doesn’t come together this summer.
Robert, still just 26 years old, returned from the injured list yesterday after an absence of nearly two months. He suffered a Grade 2 strain of his hip flexor early in the season and was sidelined for the bulk of April and the entirety of May. He wasted little time in reminding the type of impact he brings to a game, going 2-for-4 with a homer in his return effort. The Cuban-born five-tool standout has played in only eight games and taken just 33 plate appearances this season but carries a .250/.273/.594 batting line with three homers.
Last year saw Robert take his always tantalizing game to new heights. The dynamic center fielder stayed healthy for a career-high 145 games and posted a stout .264/.315/.542 batting line with a career-high 38 home runs, 36 doubles, a triple and 20 stolen bases (in 24 tries). Robert ranked in the 84th percentile of MLB players in terms of sprint speed, per Statcast, and was among the league leaders in barrel rate. He’s a premium outfield defender with plus range and an above-average arm — evidenced both by gaudy Statcast percentile rankings and by career marks of +13 Defensive Runs Saved and +24 Outs Above Average in 3116 innings of work.
Durability and an over-aggressive approach at the plate are the primary knocks on Robert, who is two months into his fifth MLB season and already has five career IL placements for injury (plus another shorter stay on the Covid-related injured list). Robert played in 56 of 60 games during his rookie showing in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, but he logged just 68 and 98 games in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and he could finish the 2024 season with fewer than 100 games played as well, thanks to one already lengthy absence. He’s now had significant strains of his left and right hip flexors, in addition to an MCL sprain and a wrist strain in his career.
In terms of Robert’s approach at the plate, the results are strong so it’s hard to be too critical. But Robert rarely walks (career 5.3%) and chases pitches off the plate more than nearly any player in the sport. Since his 2020 debut, only Salvador Perez, Harold Ramirez and Javier Baez swing at more balls out of the strike zone than Robert’s massive 46.3% (at least among qualified hitters). His 54.6% contact rate on such swings is well below average, and his career 83.2% contact rate on pitches in the strike zone is also a couple points south of par. It hasn’t led to an exorbitant strikeout rate just yet — Robert has fanned in 25.5% of his career plate appearances — but it’s a less-than-ideal trend that could worsen if Robert loses what Statcast currently measures as elite bat speed (seventh fastest in the majors, on average).
There’s little precedent for a player of this quality with this level of affordability and team control being traded. Robert is owed just under $8MM through season’s end as of this writing plus another $45MM over the next three seasons. Three-and-a-half years of an MVP-caliber talent at a maximum rate of $63MM is a raucous bargain by today’s contractual standards. Teams may be wary of Robert’s injury history and free-swinging ways, but he’s signed for the remainder of his 20s and would be a legitimately franchise-altering deadline acquisition if a team can put together an impressive enough trade offer. Robert might not quite command the type of haul the Padres sent to the Nats for Juan Soto a couple years back, but he’s closer to that level of value than the standard deadline trade candidates. Getz alluded to as much in the offseason, calling Robert “one of the best players in baseball” and noting that he was a “difficult player to trade.”
There are similarities, in terms of trade value, when it comes to Crochet. It’s rare to see a high-end pitcher with two and a half seasons of club control traded at the deadline. Crochet is extra appealing given that his injuries and former role in the bullpen have tamped down his first-year arbitration price. He’s being paid only $800K this season. He’ll be due a pair of notable raises in each of the next two offseasons but still isn’t likely to command even $15MM in salary over those two years.
The 24-year-old Crochet’s transition from reliever to starter hit a brief snag with a trio of rough outings in mid-April, but he’s on an absolute tear right now and looks the part of a frontline starter, as one might expect for a former first-round talent who has long been touted to have ace upside. In 13 starts, Crochet is sitting on a 3.49 earned run average with vastly better fielding-independent marks (2.87 FIP, 2.48 SIERA). That’s due largely to his elite strikeout and walk numbers; Crochet has punched out 33.7% of his opponents against just a 5.4% walk rate — all while keeping the ball on the ground at an above-average 45.9% clip and averaging a blazing 96.9 mph on his heater.
Since that set of consecutive rough outings in April, Crochet has been on another planet. Arguably baseball’s best pitcher in that time, he’s logged a 1.35 ERA with a 53-to-7 K/BB ratio over his past 40 innings. Crochet allowed five, seven and five earned runs in his run of three straight rocky April outings. He’s yielded two or fewer runs in each of his ten other starts this season.
Rival clubs might be wary of how well he’ll hold up over the course of a full season in the rotation. It’s a fair qualm, as Crochet pitched just 25 innings last season and didn’t pitch at all in 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. This year’s 69 2/3 innings are already a new career-high for the lefty, who entered 2024 with only 85 1/3 professional innings total (majors and minors combined). That said, even if there are concerns about Crochet fading down the stretch, there’s considerable long-term upside, as one would imagine the effects of a full starter’s workload will be more normalized for him in 2025 and 2026. If he wears down later this year, he’s also quite familiar with pitching in short relief.
Any trepidation about how he’ll hold up this year hasn’t stopped the Padres from reaching out to the White Sox. They’ve reportedly inquired on the lefty and have strong interest in him, which makes sense given not only Crochet’s dominance and San Diego’s need for arms, but also his minimal salary and the Friars’ relative proximity to the luxury tax barrier. Adding one of the game’s most dominant pitchers while barely even advancing your luxury tax line ought to hold overwhelming appeal for the majority of the team’s highest-spending clubs. At the same time, Crochet’s minimal salary also makes him appealing to small-market clubs with payroll concerns. Short of the innings worries, he’s an ideal trade target.
Because of that, the asking price on Crochet figures to be extreme, just as it will be with Robert. If Getz and his team genuinely make both available and play some bidders against one another, the Sox could genuinely overhaul the entire farm system with this pair of trades — to say nothing of deals involving Fedde, Pham and the other previously mentioned veterans. It’s going to take an enormous package of prospects to pry either player from the Sox, but with widespread mediocrity permeating the National League and leaving few teams in position to truly wave the white flag on the 2024 season, it could be a seller’s market. There’s no salvaging this lost season for the South Siders, but getting one or both of these trades right could wildly accelerate their rebuilding efforts.
White Sox Activate Luis Robert, Place Tommy Pham On IL, Designate Zach Remillard
The White Sox announced a series of roster moves today, reinstating outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the injured list, recalling outfielder Zach DeLoach and selecting the contract of outfielder Duke Ellis. In corresponding moves, outfielders Tommy Pham and Dominic Fletcher have each landed on the 10-day injured list, Pham due to a left ankle sprain and Fletcher due to a left shoulder strain. Both moves are retroactive to June 3. The Sox also designated infielder Zach Remillard for assignment. James Fegan of Sox Machine reported the Ellis news on X earlier today.
Robert returns to the roster after missing nearly two months with a Grade 2 strain of his right hip flexor. He hit .214/.241/.500 in 29 plate appearances before sustaining the injury while legging out a ninth-inning double. It’s a suboptimal way to kick off his follow-up to last year’s sensational year, which saw the five-tool standout bat .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers, 20 steals and plus center field defense in a career-high 145 games.
The return of Robert will add some direly needed talent to a White Sox club that has overwhelmingly been the worst in MLB this year. Chicago’s .250 winning percentage is miles behind the 29th-ranked Marlins’ mark of .350. The ChiSox are slam-dunk sellers at this year’s trade deadline, and if healthy, Robert will command plenty of attention himself. However, he’s signed at a bargain rate through the 2027 season, and trading a player with MVP-caliber talent and three-plus seasons of club control left is almost unheard of. Other clubs will surely make an effort, but it would likely take one of the largest trade returns in recent MLB history for the Sox to make the move.
Pham, 36, is a far more logical trade candidate. If healthy, he’s perhaps the single most obvious and likely player in all of MLB to be moved leading up to the deadline. The 11-year veteran is playing on a $3MM base salary on his one-year deal and is out to a strong .280/.331/.402 start to his season (110 wRC+). He posted a similar .256/.328/.446 line in 481 plate appearances between the Mets and D-backs a season ago. Pham may not have the speed or power he possessed in his late 20s and early 30s, but he remains a talented hitter who can capably handle the outfield corners (even if he’s been miscast as a center fielder in Chicago with Robert on the injured list).
Fletcher, acquired in an offseason trade that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to the D-backs, has managed only a .173/.253/.227 output in 84 plate appearances. That pales in comparison to last year’s .301/.350/.441 showing in his MLB debut effort with Arizona. The Sox briefly optioned him to Charlotte but recalled him recently after he hit .238/.319/.405 in 11 games. For a 26-year-old whom the Sox hoped could be a controllable piece for them, Fletcher has received curiously sparse playing time since his recall. Manager Pedro Grifol has given Fletcher just 18 plate appearances over the past three weeks, during which he’s collected only one hit.
Ellis, 26, is hitting .258/.341/.308 (102 wRC+) in 39 Double-A games this season but has already racked up an enormous 34 stolen bases. Opponents have managed to catch him only one time thus far. Throughout his minor league career, he’s turned in worrying strikeout rates and displayed minimal power (career-high eight homers), but he’s also swiped 117 bases with an 88.9% success rate. Though he’s not considered one of the White Sox’ top prospects, Ellis clearly possesses high-end speed.
The Padres selected Ellis out of high school with their 20th-round pick in 2017, but he instead opted to attend Panola College in Carthage, Texas. He’d have been eligible for the 2020 draft, but that year’s event was shortened to five rounds during the pandemic-impacted season. He wound up signing with the White Sox as an undrafted free agent and has steadily climbed their ranks.
This will be the second DFA of the season for Remillard, who made his MLB debut as a 29-year-old rookie last season. He’s hit .250/.304/.322 in 199 big league plate appearances since that time but has struggled to a lifeless .114/.192/.157 slash in 19 Triple-A games this year. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Charlotte following his last DFA and is a candidate to do so a second time.
White Sox Notes: Robert, Trades, Ramos, Leone
Luis Robert Jr. began a minor league rehab assignment this week with two games in the Arizona Complex League, and the outfielder will soon be headed to Triple-A Charlotte, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol told MLB.com and other media. “He’ll have that Minor League day off on Monday, get a workout in and then he’ll start playing his Charlotte games on Tuesday,” Grifol said. “We’ll see after that. I think probably by the middle of next week or something like that, he’ll be cleared with his leg, and then it becomes [at-bats] and timing and stuff like that.”
While there’s still some fluidity within this timeline, it does seem like Robert is perhaps a week or so away from returning to Chicago’s lineup. Robert suffered a Grade 2 hip flexor strain in the first week of April, and given his past history of hip injuries, there was an initial concern that Robert could be facing an extended layoff — another flexor strain cost Robert almost three months of the 2021 season. However, this latest injury ended up being less serious, and Robert appears to be on pace with the six-week recovery timeline that GM Chris Getz floated in mid-April.
Injuries have been a dominant theme of Robert’s MLB career, though the outfielder’s star potential has been evident whenever he has been able to take the field. Robert hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers and 20 steals over a career-high 595 plate appearances and 145 games last season, finally staying healthy long enough to deliver a top-quality season. Between his offensive production and solid defense, Robert generated 4.9 fWAR in 2023, a number topped by only 16 position players in all of baseball.
Assuming that Robert returns soon and continues this good form, more trade rumors will inevitably surface as the deadline approaches. As per the terms of the contract extension he signed with the Sox prior to his MLB debut, Robert is owed roughly $8.6MM for the remainder of this season, $15MM in 2025, and then the White Sox have club options on his services for both 2026 and 2027 (each worth $20MM with a $2MM buyout).
The rebuilding Sox have no bigger trade chip than Robert, though Getz didn’t sound too motivated to move Robert when asked about his availability last offseason. In comments to Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times and other reporters yesterday, Getz again signaled that the White Sox are generally open for business on everyone, but “some players on the team that I think make a little more sense than others” to be dealt by the deadline.
“We’re open on players on our club just because we know we’ve got to make strides to get back to being a competitive team here in the AL Central,” Getz said. “We’ve got our pro scouts monitoring other clubs’ prospects closely….The minor leagues are the strongest avenue to improve your Major League club. We are excited about what we are building at the minor league level, and we are going to look for opportunities to add to our group. We look forward to July and the opportunity to insert more talent into our group.”
Getz will surely be looking for a premium return in any Robert trade, which could impact the outfielder’s chances of being moved at the deadline or perhaps in the offseason. If questions about Robert’s health persist among potential suitors, Getz could hang onto Robert in the hopes that two more healthy and productive months throughout the remainder of the 2024 campaign would help clear any doubts about his readiness. Waiting until the winter could also open up Robert’s trade market to more teams, even though his added years of contractual control means that his deadline market wouldn’t necessarily be limited just to this season’s contenders.
Even if the White Sox don’t pull the trigger on swapping Robert, there are plenty of other players up and down the roster that might traded by the July 30 deadline in a variety of big and little deals. A veteran rental reliever like Dominic Leone could be a natural candidate to be moved in a low-level transaction, yet Leone’s trade value is pretty minimal right now after another trip to the injured list.
Chicago placed Leone on the 15-day IL yesterday (with a retroactive placement date of May 21) due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. That placement came almost immediately after another 15-day IL stint due to back tightness, and Leone made just one in-game appearance in between those two stops on the injured list. Grifol expressed hope that Leone would again be able to return after just the minimum 15 days, as “everything came back clean and clear” on Leone’s elbow after testing.
Beyond just the injury problems, Leone also has a 7.04 ERA over 15 1/3 innings. His career-long troubles with the home run ball have again surfaced, as the right-hander has allowed four homers over his 15 1/3 frames, as well as an ungainly 15.7% walk rate. It thus far hasn’t been remotely the bounce-back Leone was hoping for after he joined the White Sox on a minor league deal this past winter, coming off a 4.67 ERA in 54 combined innings with the Mets, Angels, and Mariners in 2023.
The White Sox called up righty Justin Anderson from Triple-A as the corresponding move for Leone yesterday, and brought another familiar face back to the active roster today when third baseman Bryan Ramos was reinstated from the 10-day IL. Outfielder Zach DeLoach was optioned to Triple-A to create roster space for Ramos, who will miss just a minimum amount of time after being sidelined with a left quad strain.
Before the injury, Ramos hit .281/.294/.344 over the first 34 plate appearances of his big league career. Ramos was receiving everyday work at third base and should resume that role upon his return, as the White Sox seem eager to explore his potential as a possible third baseman of the future. The Sox promoted Ramos to the big league straight from Double-A, and Ramos hadn’t received any Triple-A playing time until two games with Charlotte during his just-completed minor league rehab assignment.
AL Notes: Robert, Berti, Sano
White Sox fans received a positive update from GM Chris Getz regarding the status of injured center fielder Luis Robert Jr. over the weekend, with MLB.com’s Injury Tracker noting that the club believes Robert could return to the lineup in Chicago as soon as the middle of May. According to Getz, Robert’s rehab has “been really positive” as he’s progressed to both running and hitting without issue.
If Robert could be back with the big league club in as little as two weeks, that would be excellent news for the White Sox. The 26-year-old suffered a grade 2 strain of his left hip flexor three weeks ago that was initially expected to sideline him for at least at weeks, with some club officials reportedly worrying that Robert would miss the entire first half. Fortunately, the slugger appears to have avoided those worst-case-scenarios.
While Robert had been hitting a relatively pedestrian .214/.241/.500 through seven games at the time of his injury, he’ll nonetheless be an immediate upgrade to the outfield mix in Chicago upon his return even if he doesn’t regain the form that saw him finish 12th in AL MVP voting last year. The White Sox are currently relying on newly-signed veteran Tommy Pham in center field in Robert’s absence, with Andrew Benintendi and Robbie Grossman holding down the outfield corners.
More from around the American League…
- Yankees third baseman Jon Berti is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset today, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. The utilityman, who the club acquired from the Marlins in a three-team trade just before Opening Day, has been shelved for two weeks due to a left groin strain. Prior to the injury, Berti had been operating as part of a platoon at third base with Oswaldo Cabrera, though the 34-year-old veteran was just 4-for-19 when he was placed on the IL. Cabrera has taken over regular duties at third base in the absence of both Berti and DJ LeMahieu, posting a respectable .258/.294/.404 in 95 trips to the plate.
- The Angels had an injury scare this weekend when Miguel Sano was pulled from Friday’s game during the sixth inning due to a bout of knee soreness. The slugger remained out of Anaheim’s lineup last night while undergoing an MRI on his knee but indicated to reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) that he is day-to-day and expects to avoid a trip to the injured list after the test revealed inflammation in his left knee. That Sano won’t require a trip to the IL is surely a relief for the Angels, as the soon-to-be 31-year-old has taken over the third base job with the club while Anthony Rendon is out with a partially torn hamstring. Through 71 trips to the plate this season, Sano has hit a respectable .262/.352/.361 (110 wRC+), though much of that production has been thanks to an unsustainable .441 BABIP.
AL Central Notes: White Sox, Correa, Tigers
The White Sox recently received some good news on the injury front, as GM Chris Getz told reporters (including 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine) that the prognoses on injured hitters Luis Robert Jr. and Yoan Moncada aren’t quite as worrying as the club initially believed.
Per Getz, Robert may be able to return from the Grade 2 hip flexor strain that sent him to the injured list last week after just six weeks of rehab, while the club hopes Moncada can return from his adductor strain in late July. The news is surely relieving for White Sox fans, as Robert was reportedly at risk of missing multiple months due to his injury while Moncada was given an initial timeline for return of three to six months. Getz’s comments indicate that both players are on track to return at the earliest end of their projected timetables.
The injuries are yet another blow to a White Sox club that has started the season with a 2-12 record and appears destined for a second consecutive 100-loss season in 2024. While Chicago was never expected to be a serious postseason contender this season, Robert and Moncada were each shaping up to be rare bright spots for the club this year prior to their injuries. Robert is the face of the Sox franchise following the departures of Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease in recent months and appeared poised to build upon a 2023 campaign that saw him slash .264/.315/.542 in 145 games, while Moncada was off to his best start in years after struggling with injuries in recent seasons. Through 11 games this year, the 28 year old was hitting a solid .282/.364/.410 with strong strikeout (22.7%) and walk (11.3%) figures.
Of course, it’s entirely possible both players will be able to pick up from where they left off upon rejoining the club later in the season. In the meantime, the White Sox are relying on Dominic Fletcher and Kevin Pillar in center field while Lenyn Sosa gets the lion’s share of playing time at the hot corner. Sosa moving off the bench to take up third base and Fletcher shifting from right field to center has also opened the door for the likes of Zach Remillard and Robbie Grossman to impact the club’s roster.
More from around the AL Central:
- Twins shortstop Carlos Correa hit the 10-day injured list yesterday with what was initially described as an oblique strain, but Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com noted last night that Minnesota later reclassified as a mild right intercostal strain following the results of an MRI. While a timeline for Correa’s return to action is not yet known, Park suggests that once could be announced at some point this week. The reclassification of Correa’s injury provides some optimism that he could return to action fairly quickly, as MLB.com notes that mild intercostal strains typically have a recovery time of two to three weeks. Even if the absence is a relatively short one, it’s an unfortunate turn of events for a Twins club that has already lost Royce Lewis to injury on the left side of its infield. Correa had gotten off to a hot start this season, slashing a strong .306/.432/.444 through 11 games this season prior to hitting the injured list.
- The Tigers provided an ominous update on the status of right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long yesterday, with Evan Woodbery of MLive relaying comments from club manager A.J. Hinch. According to Hinch, the Tigers are getting “multiple opinions” on the righty’s arm after he reported tightness in his forearm last week. To that end, Gipson-Long has returned to Detroit to meet with the team’s doctors and will remain with the club while awaiting next steps. Gipson-Long was already on the injured list due to a groin strain, but an issue with his right arm is far more concerning for the long term. A lengthy absence would be unfortunate for the Tigers, as Gipson-Long impressed with a 2.70 ERA and 3.16 FIP in four starts down he stretch last season during his first big league cup of coffee.
Luis Robert Jr. Facing Lengthy Absence
The White Sox placed center fielder Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list over the weekend, and while the team didn’t provide a timetable for his return, Robert himself told the Sox beat that he’s been diagnosed with a Grade 2 hip flexor strain. Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Sox are currently anticipating an absence of six to eight weeks for the star outfielder. Some in the organization are more concerned and think Robert could miss three-plus months, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes.
Robert exited Friday’s game against the Royals after he injured himself rounding first base on a double into the left field corner (video link). An exact timetable surely depends on how he progresses through the early stages of his rehab process. Robert endured a strain in this same right hip flexor back in 2021 as well, though that was a Grade 3 strain — more severe than his current injury. He wound up missing nearly three and a half months with that injury.
Robert, 26, made his first All-Star team and nabbed some down-ballot MVP votes in 2023 after he hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 home runs and 20 steals in 145 games. He was out to a slower start to the 2024 season, batting .214/.241/.500 with a pair of big flies and an uncharacteristic 38% strikeout rate — albeit in a tiny sample of 39 plate appearances.
The Sox weren’t ever expected to compete this season, but a minimum month-and-a-half absence — and potentially a good bit longer on the shelf — for their best player is a critical blow to a largely torn-down roster. With Robert out for the foreseeable future, the Sox will likely turn to offseason trade acquisition Dominic Fletcher in center. He’s already started two games there since Robert first sustained his injury. Listed at just 5’6″, Fletcher is undersized relative to other big leaguers but nevertheless touted as a plus defender at all three outfield spots. Veterans Andrew Benintendi and Robbie Grossman are lined up for frequent corner work now, although the team surely hopes 25-year-old Oscar Colas can get back on track in Triple-A and reenter the right field mix after a dismal 2023 season.
There was some speculation regarding a potential trade of Robert over the winter, as the Sox are once again in a rebuilding mode — under new front office leadership for the first time in two decades. But general manager Chris Getz never seemed all that likely to trade Robert, who is one of the game’s most dynamic talents and is signed to a club-friendly contract. Robert is being paid $12.5MM this season and $15MM next year. The Sox hold a pair of club options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, both valued at $20MM with a $2MM buyout. In other words, he’s guaranteed $29.5MM over the next two seasons but could be controlled all the way through 2027 for a total of $67.5MM.
It’s an eminently reasonable price, though the mounting injury history for Robert is certainly a concern. He’s only reached 100 games in a big league season once (last year) and seems unlikely to get there in 2024 following this injury. Critics might argue that his trade value was at his peak this offseason, coming off a season of MVP-caliber production in a career-high 595 plate appearances. It’s overwhelmingly rare to see an established talent with this much team control traded, however, and Getz would’ve been well within his right to hold out for a return that rivals any of the largest trade packages we’ve seen in recent memory.
On the plus side for the Sox, Robert is so talented and still signed for so long that even if he misses multiple months, his trade value ought to remain considerable. And, of course, the team doesn’t need to trade him this summer or even next offseason or at the 2025 trade deadline. Depending on how the team’s current rebuild progresses (or fails to do so), Robert could conceivably still be part of a contending White Sox club in a few years’ time. And if things do stall out longer than the team currently hopes, he’d command a haul even if he were being marketed with “only” two years or one and a half years of club control remaining.
For now, the focus will be squarely on getting Robert back onto the field — though it seems a late-May return is a best-case scenario. Nightengale suggests the Sox will at least be open to the idea of outside acquisitions and lists free agent Tommy Pham as a potential fit.
White Sox Place Luis Robert Jr. On 10-Day Injured List
4:58pm: As noted by James Fegan of SoxMachine, Robert told reporters that he has a Grade 2 hip flexor strain and doesn’t have a timeline for return, though he added that his current strain is not as severe as the flexor tendon tear that cost him much of the 2021 season. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin relays that manager Pedro Grifol told reporters that Robert’s injury will require more than the ten-day minimum absence. Like Robert, Grifol added that he didn’t know how long the absence would be.
3:19pm: The White Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve placed Robert on the IL with a right hip flexor strain. Sosa has been called up to take Robert’s spot on the active roster.
8:55am: Friday was a tough night all around for the White Sox, beyond the club’s 2-1 loss to the Royals. Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. was removed from the game in the ninth inning due to an injury to his right hip flexor, and right-hander John Brebbia was removed in the sixth inning due to a right calf strain. Robert came up limping around first base after hitting a double, while Brebbia’s injury seemingly occurred while fielding a Salvador Perez grounder. Brebbia remained in the game to walk the next batter he faced before being pulled.
Both injuries come with some backstory. Brebbia dealt with a calf strain during Spring Training, and made only two Cactus League appearances prior to the start of the regular season. Robert’s situation is more ominous, as a right hip flexor strain cost him close to three months of the 2021 season.
More will be known about both players later today, though it would seem like a trip to the injured list is very likely. James Fegan of the Sox Machine blog reports (via X) that infielder Lenyn Sosa is heading from Triple-A Charlotte to join the White Sox in Kansas City, and outfielder Oscar Colas was also pulled late from Charlotte’s game yesterday. If Colas was also added to the active roster along with Sosa, that could mean the team is comfortable going at least one day with only 12 pitchers on the 26-man, at least until they can figure out a more direct pitching replacement for Brebbia.
Beyond the potential losses of Robert and Brebbia, Chicago already placed another prominent name on the 10-day IL just yesterday when Eloy Jimenez was sidelined with an adductor strain. Between these injuries and a dismal 1-6 record, it is looking like another long year on the South Side in the aftermath of the team’s disastrous 101 losses in 2023.
Robert was one of the few bright spots of last year’s campaign, as the outfielder bounced back from two injury-plagued seasons to hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers and 20 steals (from 24 attempts) over 595 plate appearances. Since he made his MLB debut in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, this marked Robert’s first regulation-length full season, and it showed the talent that made Robert such a highly-touted prospect both in Chicago’s farm system and coming out of Cuba in 2017. The White Sox gave Robert a $26MM bonus as an international prospect, and then inked him to a six-year, $50MM deal before he had even played in his first big league game.
While the severity of Robert’s injury hasn’t yet been established, another lengthy stint on the IL could impact Chicago’s plans at the trade deadline and beyond. Robert’s contract (which contains club options for 2026 and 2027) makes him one of the more cost-effective talents in the game, and since the White Sox seem to have at least one foot in the rebuilding waters, trading Robert would be the most logical way for GM Chris Getz to restock the farm system with talent. Getz downplayed the idea of a Robert trade during the offseason, and given the amount of team control remaining in Robert’s deal, there isn’t any immediate need for the Sox to trade him soon. An injury could well make this a moot point for 2024, at least, though if Robert misses a lot of time, it will lead to some inevitable second-guessing that Getz should have sold high on Robert this past winter.
Brebbia is a much more clear-cut trade candidate for this year’s deadline, as the righty signed only a one-year, $5.5MM deal (with a $6MM mutual option for 2025) with the White Sox back in January. If Brebbia’s calf is able to heal relatively quickly, it shouldn’t have much impact on his deadline availability assuming he pitches well after his return, though injuries have been a significant part of his history. The 33-year-old missed all of the 2020 season and most of the 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and a lat strain cost Brebbia close to half of the 2023 campaign when he was a member of the Giants’ bullpen.
This Date In Transaction History: Luis Robert Extension
Today marks the four-year anniversary of one of the White Sox’s better moves in recent memory. On January 2, 2020, the Sox finalized a $50MM extension with Luis Robert. The right-handed hitting center fielder had yet to make his MLB debut but was a consensus top prospect.
As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the deal was then the largest ever signed by a player with no big league reps. It marked the second straight year in which the Sox inked a record-setting contract with a player before his debut. Their 2019 deal with Eloy Jiménez, which guaranteed him $43MM over six seasons, hasn’t necessarily gone as the club envisioned. They had far more success with the Robert extension.
The contract ensured Robert would open the 2020 campaign as Chicago’s center fielder. While that might have happened regardless on the heels of a monster showing in the high minors, there was a possibility of the Sox keeping Robert in Triple-A long enough to secure an additional year of club control. (Under the previous collective bargaining agreement, there were fewer incentives for teams to carry top prospects on the Opening Day roster.) The extension bought out their six-year control window while tacking on two team options to add two high-upside seasons for the organization.
Robert had a solid but not overwhelming debut showing, hitting .233/.302/.436 as a 22-year-old during the shortened season. A hip flexor strain interrupted what looked like a breakout showing in his second season. Robert was out of action between May 4 and August 9. Around the injury, he put up spectacular numbers. He raked at a .338/.378/.567 clip with above-average defense in center field. His power numbers took a step back in 2022 but rebounded last season, when Robert turned in the best performance of his career.
The 26-year-old finished ninth in the majors with 38 home runs. He hit .264/.315/.542 overall, more than compensating for a middling strikeout and walk profile with huge power. Robert also put his excellent athleticism to use on the bases and defensively. He went 20-24 in stolen base attempts and received strong grades for his 1207 2/3 innings in center field. Defensive Runs Saved pegged Robert as six runs better than average, while Statcast rated him 11 runs above par.
In what was a disastrous season for the Sox overall, Robert was a rare bright spot. He earned his first All-Star nod and a Silver Slugger at year’s end. He finished 12th in AL MVP balloting, the first time in his career he received down-ballot recognition for that award.
That stellar showing led to a bit of chatter about Robert’s potential availability in trade. White Sox general manager Chris Getz stoked those flames early in the offseason when he said there were no untouchables on a top-heavy roster. While Getz has never entirely walked those comments back, he clarified at the Winter Meetings the Sox would set such a high bar in talks that he had “a tough time seeing him wearing another uniform next year.”
Even as the White Sox entertain trade possibilities on the likes of Jiménez and starter Dylan Cease, there’s reason for Chicago to more or less take Robert off the table. He’s the team’s best player, for one. Yet a trade would have been easier to envision if not for the extension. Robert has four years of MLB service. If Chicago hadn’t signed him to an extension (or kept him in the minors to delay his service clock in 2020), he’d be two years from the open market.
Instead, they have him under control for another four seasons. Robert will make $12.5MM next season and $15MM the year after. Chicago holds affordable $20MM options on his services for the 2026-27 campaigns. His combination of star upside and extended control window makes him one of the most valuable trade assets in the sport. Moving Robert would signify a full teardown. Trading Cease, who is controllable via arbitration for two seasons, is more in line with a shorter-term “retool.”
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
White Sox GM Downplays Possibility Of Luis Robert Trade
The primary focus around the White Sox’ offseason at present is their ongoing slate of trade negotiations surrounding righty Dylan Cease, the 2022 AL Cy Young runner-up. Rookie ChiSox GM Chris Getz said last month that there are no players on the roster that he deems untouchable, Cease included, but he continues to describe center fielder Luis Robert Jr. differently that others on his roster.
Getz openly acknowledged widespread interest in Cease yesterday (link via Scott Merkin of MLB.com), noting that there’s no club in MLB that “doesn’t have a level of interest” before eventually adding that Cease is “right at the top” of the offseason market for starting pitching. On Robert, however, Getz understandably struck a different tone.
“Luis Robert is a very difficult player to move and expect that your club is going to get better because of it,” said Getz. “We’re talking about one of the best players in baseball, and we’re very fortunate to have him with the Chicago White Sox. So I have a tough time seeing him wearing another uniform next year.”
Getz again sidestepped the type of firm denial his Anaheim counterpart, Perry Minasian, put forth today on former AL MVP Mike Trout. But Getz also continues to characterize Robert as someone who’s all but assured of staying put on Chicago’s South Side. The reasoning isn’t hard to see. While the Sox are coming off a disastrous 101-loss season, Robert was nothing short of sensational i 2023, hitting .264/.315/.548 with 38 home runs, 36 doubles, 20 steals (in 24 tries) and plus defense in center field. Had the White Sox not been all but eliminated from contention by the end of April, Robert quite likely would’ve found himself on more MVP ballots. (He finished 12th as it is.)
Beyond Robert’s general excellence on the field, he’s also just 26 years old and is signed for another two seasons with two subsequent club options thereafter. In all, he can be controlled through the 2027 season at a combined total of $67.5MM. That type of commitment over a four-year term from a prime-aged center fielder with an MVP-caliber ceiling is a staggering bargain — particularly when the last two seasons aren’t even guaranteed (thus affording the team an eject option if Robert incurs a significant injury).
Ultimately, a trade feels decidedly unlikely. We haven’t seen an established player with this level of affordable contract/team control traded in some time; Juan Soto might be the best recent comparison, but he had just two and a half seasons of control remaining and was expected to earn more than Robert over the course of his remaining control as a player going year-to-year through arbitration (with enormous counting stats).
Once Shohei Ohtani and other top free agents are off the board (ditto Juan Soto and other prominent trade candidates), clubs who miss out on those top targets could well circle back to the White Sox and Robert. However, the type of farm-depleting haul that Robert would command is probably one from which nearly any of Getz’s peers would shy away.
Shohei Ohtani Wins AL MVP
Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has been voted the Most Valuable Player in the American League for 2023, per an announcement from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien of the Rangers were second and third in the voting, respectively.
The news hardly comes as a surprise, with Ohtani having delivered another two-way season for the Angels in which the only precedent was himself. He made 23 starts as a pitcher, tossing 132 innings with an earned run average of 3.14. His 10.4% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 31.5% of batters faced. Among pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched on the year, only Spencer Strider punched out opponents at a greater rate.
As a hitter, he launched 44 home runs and drew walks at a 15.2% clip. His .304/.412/.654 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 180, indicating he was 80% better overall than the average hitter. He accomplished all of these things despite having his season cut short by injury. Due to some finger issues and then a torn UCL, he only tossed 1 1/3 innings after August 9 and not at all after August 23. He continued hitting but he later suffered an oblique strain and his last game as either a hitter or pitcher was September 3.
That didn’t matter as Ohtani had already racked up enough accomplishments to take home the award for a second time, the first coming in 2021. If it weren’t for Aaron Judge‘s record-breaking 62 home runs last year, Ohtani would have gotten a hat trick. The BBWAA notes that this is the first time a player has won a unanimous MVP twice. The most unique baseball player of all time is now the most unique free agent of all time and is surely in line to break another record, or records, when he finally puts pen to paper.
Seager and Semien each had fine seasons in their own right, but had little chance to catch Ohtani here, though they have World Series rings to soften the blow. Seager hit 33 home runs and had a wRC+ of 169 while those numbers were 29 and 124 for Semien.
Other players receiving votes were Julio Rodríguez, Kyle Tucker, Yandy Díaz, Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, José Ramírez, Gerrit Cole, Luis Robert Jr., Yordan Alvarez, Adolis García, Judge, Bo Bichette, J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, Rafael Devers, Isaac Paredes, Sonny Gray, Alex Bregman and Josh Naylor.