Chicago White Sox: Three best offseason moves
3. Luis Robert
Extensions for players who haven’t had a single plate appearance at the major league level are very rare, but the organization smartly decided to give Robert one.
Robert, 22, received a six-year, $50 million extension from the club that includes two $20 million club options as detailed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
While it’s hard to determine what fair value is for a player who has yet to play a day above the Triple-A level, it is very hard to ignore the potential appeal of this contract.
The center fielder hit .328/.376/.624 with 32 home runs, 31 doubles, 11 triples, and 36 stolen bases across three levels of the minor leagues in 2019.
That led him to being rated the third-best prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline, which put him only behind Gavin Lux and Wander Franco.
This extension could potentially save the White Sox millions upon millions of dollars if Robert becomes anything close to the star they envision him becoming.
It also allows the organization to have Robert start the year with the team without worrying about service time manipulation.
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Robert appears to be ready for the major leagues and the decision to give him a contract extension was a risk absolutely worth taking for the White Sox.