Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. only needs to read what his general manager had to say about him to get an idea about his future on the South Side.
“We are committed to Luis,” Chris Getz said Wednesday. “He can be such a boost to this lineup and this team. . . . For what he’s capable of doing — the talent, the impact he can have on this club — we like having Luis Robert here.”
But Robert has seen enough of the business side of baseball unfold around him in recent years to know anything can happen.
He has witnessed the White Sox change from contender to rebuilder in a flash, seen onetime cornerstones Dylan Cease, Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech and Andrew Vaughn traded and watched as Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada weren’t retained. So it’s not that he’s necessarily skeptical about a Sox future past this season. He’s just prepared for anything.
“I know that there’s a possibility of me staying here for two years; that’s what my contract is, right?” Robert said Friday. “I will be happy to stay here as long as they want me here. But I also know that things can change.”
Robert, 28, sat on pins and needles alongside every Sox fan this summer, when speculation mounted that he would be moved in a trade-deadline deal in advance of a decision on his $20 million team option for 2026.
With Getz unable to get a return that matched the value the Sox place on Robert, who hit 38 home runs and won a Silver Slugger only two seasons ago, he stayed put. That there were no huge prospect hauls offered for a guy who had slumped for a year and a half wasn’t exactly shocking.
Robert has rebounded with a nice second half at the plate, all while playing stellar defense and stealing a ton of bases. But now there’s an injury, the hamstring strain that could wipe out the rest of Robert’s season. It’s a new factor — and a new set of questions — should Getz hope to rekindle trade talks this winter.
“It’s no secret my first half was a bad one,” Robert said, “but in the second half, everything was going my way. I was feeling good. I was feeling good in the outfield. I was feeling good at the plate. My body was feeling good. I was just focused on staying healthy and playing as many games as I could because that’s what you want as a baseball player.
“But, unfortunately, this happened, and there’s nothing I can do.”
That’s a lesson Robert has had to learn repeatedly during his Sox tenure, his once-hyped promise as a “six-tool player” often sidetracked by injuries. This season’s 110 games played were the second-highest total of his career, something that figures to be on the minds of potential trade partners.
Getz’s comments point to the Sox picking up the option and placing a $20 million bet that Robert can become a hot trade-deadline commodity next summer or hit in the middle of a contending lineup.
For the latter to happen, Getz’s rebuild will need to pick up the pace. But Robert says he’s on board should things shake out that way.
“Definitely, I would like to stay here,” he said. “I want to be a part of this team going forward into the future. It’s good. It’s also good to hear that they are thinking of me for next year to be a part of this team.
“It’s not just me. Everybody realizes that we can do good things, especially the way we’ve been playing in the second half, how the whole team has improved. There is that belief, for sure, that we can do better.”