After last year’s 121-loss disaster, the Chicago White Sox are regular old bad this season rather than historically awful. Their 14-34 record puts them on pace to lose 115 games, which is obviously terrible, but is nothing the Baltimore Orioles didn’t do during their recent rebuild. Consider the 115-loss pace progress, I suppose.
The White Sox were expected to be very bad and, in the end, what difference does it make if you lose 110 or 115 or 121 games? For Chicago, this season is all about the development of their young players, and the veterans they can cash in as trade chips at the deadline. Utility men Josh Rojas, Austin Slater, and miscellaneous depth pitchers are expected to generate interest around the league.
Chicago’s top trade chip should be center felder Luis Robert Jr., who slugged 38 home runs and played Gold Glove-caliber defense in 2023, but hasn’t come anywhere close to doing so since. He’s hitting .186/.281/.308 with five home runs while striking out 28.9% of the time this year. That’s after hitting .224/.278/.379 with a 33.2% strikeout rate in 100 games around injury last year. Yeesh.
On Tuesday, Robert was asked about the trade deadline, and whether the rumors linger in his mind. He gave a pretty good — and refreshingly honest — reply:
As bad as he’s been, I would not close the door on a Robert trade. He’s only 27 and there is no long-term commitment. Robert will make $15 million this year and his contract includes $20 million club options for 2026 and 2027. That contract is all upside. If Robert performs well, you can keep him. If he continues to hit under the Mendoza line, you can walk away, no strings attached.
The White Sox found a taker for Eloy Jiménez at last year’s trade deadline. At the time, Jiménez was hitting .240/.297/.345. That’s better than what Robert is doing now, but it is still pretty bad, especially since Jiménez was a DH. Robert at least brings a good glove and standout baserunning (MLB-leading 17 steals this year) to the table. He’s not a total zero if he’s not hitting.
Center field-needy contenders like the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies immediately jump to mind as teams that could roll the dice on Robert at the deadline. There are only so many outfield trade candidate to go around. If someone better isn’t available, Robert starts to look really good really quickly.
Robert wants to improve his performance because he’s a big leaguer who doesn’t like performing this terribly, first and foremost, and also because it would set him up better financially after the season. Even if his $20 million option is declined this winter, he will be better positioned to sign a nice free-agent deal if he finishes this year strong, ideally along the lines of his 2023.
Getting better at the plate would also open up more trade possibilities at the deadline, and the White Sox are rooting for that. Robert is their last trade chip with a chance to bring back a good return. Everyone else with value has been dealt. One way or the other, I bet Robert goes at the deadline. His performance will dictate where he goes and how much the White Sox get in return.
In addition to Robert, other notable trade candidates ahead of the deadline include lefty Tyler Anderson (Los Angeles Angels,) righty Erick Fedde (St. Louis Cardinals), and infielder Brandon Lowe (Tampa Bay Rays).
