Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. has officially crossed over from a season-starting slump to just having an outright bad season. He is getting worse every day.
Over his last seven games, Robert is 1-for-20 with 10 strikeouts and one total base. His season OPS is now down to .553.
I thought it was worth the risk of keeping Robert Jr. on the roster rather than trade him for pennies on the dollar in the offseason. My hope was that he would stay healthy and produce at an All-Star level to yield a trade return that could help accelerate the new rebuild.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz clearly felt the same way, and it's now clear that the gamble is not going to pay off with how bad Robert Jr. has been offensively.
MLB insider Jon Heyman recently said the trade market for Robert Jr. was bad. Robert himself didn't seem to have a ton of confidence when he asserted that no team would trade for him or take a chance on him right now.
"Right now, as my season is going, I don't think anybody is going to take a chance on me," Robert said through interpreter, according Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Given what he has done lately, his value is only going to continue plummeting.
The White Sox should trade Robert for whatever they can
At this point, the White Sox should be looking to offload Robert for whatever they can.
What he is producing now is a .177/.266/.286 slash line with a wRC+ of 57. Getz would be crazy to exercise Robert Jr's $20 million option in the offseason.
Theoretically, the Sox could just pay Robert Jr. his $2 million buyout in the offseason and sign him to a much more team-friendly deal. The club could then take another run at rebuilding his value in 2026. But considering how bad he has been since coming back from a hip injury early in 2024, I highly doubt Robert Jr. would want to stick around the South Side any longer than he has to. A change of scenery could be exactly what he needs.
Why should the Sox keep him around anyways? Sure, he can steal bases, but he rarely gets on base to use his speed. The juice is no longer worth the squeeze.
Make no mistake about it, the Sox can still get something in a trade for Robert Jr. If Eloy Jimenez can get traded in 2024, Robert Jr. can be dealt, too. I could see a contending team giving up a low-level prospect or two for Robert Jr. just to use him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement during a playoff push.
Granted, when the White Sox traded Jimenez, they got a pitching prospect who ended up retiring shortly after. But if the New York Mets still want to offer pitching prospect Blade Tidwell, take it! Beggars can't be choosers.
Robert won't turn things around
If you are a White Sox fan still clinging to the hope that a two-month hot streak is coming for Robert...I wouldn't get your hopes up. It feels incredibly unlikely and the proposed solutions to get him hitting seem far-fetched.
Some theories online say that Robert needs to wear glasses. If seeing an eye doctor is what is needed, then you really must question the team's medical staff.
I do think that sending Robert to Arizona for swing sessions with hitting director Ryan Fuller and a reset would be worth pursuing. The Sox did it with one of their top-hitting prospects, Colson Montgomery.
Unfortunately, getting Robert to Arizona is almost impossible. The team cannot just demote him because he is out of minor league options. Sending Robert Jr. to Arizona would require him to be designated for assignment, and there's no chance he clears waivers.
A phantom IL stint is a possibility, but does putting Robert on the Injured List do anything but hurt his trade value even more?
I think the best option for the White Sox is to accept Robert's depreciating value, trade him for whatever the market is offering, and move on.