Other than having a hit and scoring a run, Luis Robert Jr. had a terrible night in Sacramento.
Robert Jr. had three strikeouts, including the final out as the team attempted a ninth-inning comeback against Mason Miller. His defensive gaffe in the sixth inning allowed the A's to tie up the game.
You have to start wondering if the former Chicago White Sox All-Star will ever come out of this funk he has been in.
If he cannot, then the White Sox gamble of keeping him on the roster, hoping he would rebuild his immense trade value, rather than getting at least something for him in the offseason, will come up bust.
You can blame the cold weather for this terrible start since Robert Jr. has even admitted playing in the cold is not his thing. Remember, Jose Abreu did not hit well in the cold either, but once the weather warmed up, so did his bat.
We saw that in 2023 with Luis Robert Jr. when he finally played a full season. However, he has been a shell of himself since then.
Injuries played a key role in his production decline during 2024. He is healthy in 2025, and his start makes you wonder if it is more than just playing in chilly temperatures.
His slash line heading into today's game is .143/.263/.238 with a wRC+ of 48. You can forget about trade value right now because if you converted his production into actual dollars (a formula teams use for trades), he is a -$2.8 million per FanGraphs.
That means the White Sox would have to give him away for probably a player to be named later in any deal.
This is a player the team is counting on to return to his 2023 levels, when his production was $39.3 million in trade value. That is the type of value that gets you impact players on the next competitive team. Right now, the Sox would be lucky if they got the same return for Robert Jr. as the team got for Eloy Jimenez.
If he keeps up this pace, the White Sox might also have to seriously consider paying him his $2 million buyout rather than exercise his $20 million club option in the offseason.
There is still time for him to turn things around. His April career slash line is .218/.275/.390. Plus, the main goal of April was for Luis Robert Jr. to exit the month healthy since the team was going to be playing mostly in the chilly Midwest.
Still, if he does not heat up as the weather gets warmer, then you must be concerned that he will never get going.