It wasn’t long ago that White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. guessed he’d generate zero trade interest this summer, given his struggles at the plate.
“Right now, as my season is going,” he said last month, “I don’t think anybody is going to take a chance on me.”
His numbers haven’t improved since then. Even after a two-hit night Friday, Robert has an ugly .181 batting average, one of the lowest among qualified hitters in the majors. He went 0-for-4 and struck out three times Saturday in the Sox’ 4-1 victory against the Royals.
But as for that guess that no team would ring up general manager Chris Getz looking to acquire the 2023 All-Star?
“He is wrong about that,” Getz said Friday.
The Sox surely would like to get something for Robert, who doesn’t figure to fit into the team’s long-term rebuilding plans despite two more seasons of club control — $20 million options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons that once looked like a bargain.
Getz turned Garrett Crochet into a four-player package in December, and it seemed he would try to deal Robert for a similar infusion of talent this summer before a tricky decision involving that first option needs to be made.
Even with the hideous offensive numbers, though, Getz insists there is reason for teams to be calling.
Robert is among the league leaders with 21 stolen bases, and he has played great defense. He’s not doing the kinds of things that earned him a Silver Slugger in 2023, but he’s still doing things to help the Sox.
“[Teams are] expressing interest; they’re continually doing that,” Getz said. “We’re not actively making phone calls on behalf of any player. Obviously, as you approach the trade deadline, that will pick up.
“He’s not giving himself enough credit because of the value he can bring to a team and a lineup. Now with that being said, he knows he can do better at the plate. I know that statement [from last month] was him focusing on his offensive game.
“We want Luis Robert to go out there and really impact the game in all facets, and that’s what we’re focused on right now, and I know Luis is, as well.”
To try to get Robert back in the swing of things, the Sox leaned on a strategy that worked for third baseman Miguel Vargas earlier this season, giving Robert a few days off in a row to work on things.
A mechanical tweak turned Vargas into one of the Sox’ better hitters. Robert said after the game Friday that he didn’t make any significant physical changes during his time off.
“I know all they do is for me to get better,” Robert said. “I’m open to the suggestions, and I just want to get better, too.
“It all started with the suggestion of taking that couple of days off to try to take off the stress of the game when you’re not getting the results. The other part was working throughout those days and getting better. . . . I didn’t make any big changes.”
The Sox’ brass said it asked Robert to make some changes to how he works.
“There’s just things we’ve asked him to do in training and things we haven’t seen that we’re altering and adjusting a little bit and want him to go about a little differently,” manager Will Venable said Friday. “That’s where the bigger changes will be.’’
Venable added Saturday: “What we see out there is maybe a result of what is a bigger change in just kind of changing the work and what the work looks like. That’s what’s important — continuing to do that and double down on what he’s doing pregame. . . . Results aside, it’s about him being comfortable and confident and continuing to adjust his work habits to where he wants them to be.”
Will that be enough to turn Robert into a hot trade-deadline commodity? We’ll see.
But if it’s going to happen, it had better happen fast. Unlike with young players such as Vargas and Colson Montgomery, who are undoubtedly part of their future, with Robert, the Sox might not have the luxury of time.