Why the Chicago White Sox should not trade Luis Robert Jr.
It’s trading season in Major League Baseball and trading between teams is starting to pick up steam. The Chicago White Sox have already executed a trade with the Atlanta Braves and there is talk that more trades are coming. Dylan Cease is being mentioned as a possible trade candidate while others have floated such names as Eloy Jimenez and even Luis Robert Jr. as potential trade pieces. Some of what we are hearing might be smoke, but you never know.
The White Sox need to hold on to Luis Robert Jr. to help plan for the future
In looking at why the White Sox should not trade away Robert Jr., we start off with the fact that he is the best player on the team and the White Sox need him there to build for the future. Starting completely from scratch is something that no team wants to do and if they start over from scratch, it will be because they let their best players go like the aforementioned Cease and of course, Robert Jr.
Chicago needs to keep as many pieces to the puzzle there now as they can. Even if they get good returns on these players, they still should not trade them away. Who or what are they going to get that’s going to be good enough to replace Robert Jr? There aren’t that many players out there that a team would be willing to trade that would be good enough to step into Robert Jr’s shoes. And any of those guys that are that good would be costly and probably players that the White Sox could either not afford or not want to try to pay.
Remember, this team has tight purse strings, and they aren’t going to spend a ton of money on any one player. They are going to spread the wealth, so to speak, and pay a bunch of good guys to do what a couple of great guys could do. That’s kind of interesting about the White Sox, there isn’t one huge superstar like Shohei Ohtani or Bryce Harper to carry the team (or to pay). Instead, there are a bunch of “little guys” that might hopefully get the job done.
But these little guys haven’t cut it the last few seasons and now, the White Sox are on the hunt for more talent to help them win more games and get into the playoffs. Maybe not in 2024 but eventually they will want these players to help them get into the playoffs and eventually win the World Series. They have done it before with a somewhat “ragtag” crew and they can do it again.
So why is it so important to keep Luis Robert Jr? Just like Cease is the cornerstone of the pitching group, Robert Jr. is the cornerstone to the offense and must be kept to help keep some continuity with that group. The one thing that’s nice about him is that he’s only going to get better which means that the White Sox will get better. They must allow him to develop and grow and they will end up reaping the rewards that come with an ever-improving player like Robert Jr will be.
The Chicago White Sox need to be careful who they trade. Trading away someone like Robert Jr, could be detrimental to the team. They must hang on to their star talent and build around those guys. Starting over completely is going to set this team back a ways and make many fans upset.