With the summer winding down, things had been looking up for Luis Robert Jr.
The White Sox’ star center fielder had shown signs of rediscovering his former All-Star bat. He had flashed the leather that won him a Gold Glove. He’d even gotten clarity about his future on the South Side — a little, at least — after years of trade talks.
And then, as so often has been the case during Robert’s frustrating career, an injury popped up to kill the momentum.
Now Robert, 28, could miss the final month of the season with the rebuilding Sox, who insist he’s still a big part of their future.
He landed on the injured list Wednesday, a day after straining his left hamstring while running out a grounder in the second inning of a 5-4 loss to the Royals.
The Sox are hopeful Robert will be back on the field this season, but it’s expected to be a matter of weeks, well past his 10-day IL designation, and “at this point of the year, time is not necessarily a friend with players returning,” general manager Chris Getz said.
“There is a chance that perhaps he doesn’t make it back by the end of the year,” Getz said in the dugout at Rate Field before the series finale Wednesday. “Luis is very disappointed, as you would expect. To lose him is certainly a hit, but at this point, we will get him healthy and . . . prepare him to come back here or get ready for next season.”
It’s the same hamstring Robert tweaked while tracking down a fly ball in late June, costing him valuable playing time as Getz fielded offers for him at the trade deadline. Getz couldn’t land the prospect haul he wanted for Robert, who over six seasons has fallen well short of the franchise-cornerstone expectations he arrived with. He said at the deadline that the former Silver Slugger was “part of the equation” in his long-term vision to overhaul the last-place Sox. On Wednesday, he said the latest injury won’t change that.
That means the Sox likely will pick up the $20 million contract option to keep Robert on the team into next season rather than let him walk for $2 million. He’s making $15 million this season.
“We are committed to Luis,” Getz said. “You look back at what he’s done with our team. . . . You look at the defense, the base-running. He was showing everyone what he’s capable of doing. He can be such a boost to this lineup and this team, and that’s why we are talking about it today.”
Robert is hitting .223/.297/.364 in 110 games this year with 14 home runs, 52 RBI and 33 stolen bases — a stat line that has improved mightily in the second half thanks to his .808 OPS since the All-Star break.
But it’s still not the production the Sox envisioned when former general manager Rick Hahn signed Robert to his six-year, $50 million deal before the 2020 season. Robert tantalized fans with a 38-homer All-Star campaign in 2023 but was hampered by injuries in ’21, ’22 and last season.
“Injuries are part of the game, [and] they have unfortunately been part of his history,” Getz said. “He’s really risen in terms of the impact on this team and the league, and a lot of that quality work happened in this second-half window. For what he’s capable of doing, the talent, the impact he can have on this club, we like having Luis Robert here.”
The Sox recalled outfielder Will Robertson from Triple-A Charlotte to take Robert’s place on the active roster. Manager Will Venable said Michael A. Taylor and Brooks Baldwin will pick up the slack in center.
“Every time I tell [Robert] that he’s got a day off, he fights me on it,” Venable said. “He wants to be out there. He wants to play hard. He wants to set the tone for the guys and compete. Not to have him out there is going to be tough.”