ANAHEIM, Calif. — Luis Robert Jr. admits that the possibility of playing for a World Series contender intrigued him, and had things played out the way many expected before the trade deadline Thursday, Robert would have started in the outfield for the Mets, Phillies or Padres on Friday night.
Instead, Robert was in the same place he has been for the last six seasons when healthy: in center field for the American League Central cellar-dwelling White Sox for the opener of a three-game series against the Angels.
“I was ready to go to a contender because I knew if I got traded, I would go to a contender,” Robert said. “But my hope was to stay here. I definitely feel like a weight [has been lifted off my] shoulders. I’m relieved. Knowing I’m gonna stay here for the rest of the year is something that makes me feel very happy.”
The feeling was mutual, from general manager Chris Getz, who refused to back down from his asking price in potential deals for Robert, to manager Will Venable, who sang Robert’s praises, to his teammates, who gave Robert a rousing ovation when he boarded the bus that took the team from its hotel to Angel Stadium on Friday afternoon.
“He’s an All-Star, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glover — he’s got it all — and when we go out there, he’s the best player on the field,” first baseman Miguel Vargas said. “I think it’s good for the organization, for the team, to have that caliber of player. I know everybody may be looking at him like he’s a veteran, but he’s 27 years old [Robert turns 28 on Sunday]. He’s still young, and I think it’s good for us, a young group of guys, to have him in the clubhouse.”
Speculation about a potential Robert trade began to swirl in 2024, when he hit .224 with a .657 OPS, 14 home runs and 35 RBI in 100 games and missed two months of the season with a strained right hip flexor.
Through three months of 2025, the question wasn’t whether the Sox would trade Robert but if he would be good enough to generate a decent return. Robert torpedoed his value by hitting .185 with a .584 OPS, eight homers and 32 RBI in 73 games through the end of June.
But Robert got hot in July, batting .353 (18-for-51) with a .990 OPS, three homers, 11 RBI and five stolen bases in 15 games and looking more like the budding star who hit .262 with an .857 OPS, 38 homers, 36 doubles and 80 RBI during his breakout 2023 season.
Interest perked up in Robert, who’s in the last year of a six-year, $50 million deal, but none of the offers “met the mark for us to move on from a talent like Luis,” Getz said.
How quickly things change in a month. Instead of trading Robert, the Sox seem determined to build their young club around him, with Getz signaling that the team likely will pick up his $20 million contract option rather than pay a $2 million buyout to let him walk.
“Luis is an outstanding player, a great guy, a great contributor in the clubhouse and obviously on the field,” Venable said. “I’d love to have him [long-term]. I’m glad that we got him beyond the break. There was a lot of interest in him. Everybody wants a guy like Luis.”
Robert’s productive bat, along with the hot streaks of rookies Edgar Quero, Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel, have fueled a solid post-All-Star-break run in which the Sox won eight of 12 games entering Friday. Their next win will match their victory total from last season’s 41-121 disaster.
Robert has seemed pretty relaxed at the plate for a solid month now.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Robert said when asked to explain his summer surge. “Maybe it’s because I knew there was a possibility to get traded, and I wanted to [play better] for the team to have a better chance to deal me or for me to stay here.”
Why does Robert, who received a $26 million bonus to sign with the Sox as a 19-year-old in 2017, want to stay?
“Because this has been the only organization I’ve ever been with, the only organization I know,” Robert said. “I want to stay because I like the group here, and I would like to be part of this group moving forward.”
Notes: Right-hander Shane Smith, the team’s lone All-Star, was activated off the injured list and started Friday. The Sox recalled outfielder Corey Julks from Triple-A Charlotte and optioned outfielder Will Robertson back to Charlotte.
† Chase Meidroth, who left the game Wednesday against the Phillies after being hit on the right thumb by a pitch, was not in the lineup, but manager Will Venable said the infielder had “bounced back well” and was available in “a limited capacity.”