Luis Robert Jr. stays put as White Sox deal Adrian Houser to Rays at trade deadline
The White Sox will roll it back with Luis Robert Jr.
The star center fielder who has fallen short of sky-high expectations stayed put Thursday as the Sox dealt starter Adrian Houser for three players from the Tampa Bay Rays minutes before Thursday’s MLB trade deadline.
Chris Getz had commanded a steep return for the soon-to-be 28-year-old outfielder and talks progressed with a few National League contenders, but none of it "met the mark for us to move on from a talent like Luis Robert," according to the Sox' general manager.
"We just love Luis Robert," Getz said. "We've got more time and we just didn't feel like it made any sense for us. You see what he's done here recently in impacting our Major League club. You look at some of our young players that are beginning to thrive at the Major League level — I think Luis is part of that."
After a sharp regression in 2024 and a brutal start this year, Robert has shown flashes of his 2023 All-Star form over the past month. Still playing elite defense and sitting among MLB leaders with 27 steals on the season, Robert's pedestrian .213 average with 11 homers belie the .990 OPS he posted in July.
Getz signaled he’s seen enough to pick up the $20 million contract option to keep Robert on the South Side next season, rather than let him walk for $2 million.
"We anticipate him being here. We do, and if we felt otherwise, maybe we go a different course," Getz said.
That keeps open the possibility of again trying to flip Robert for prospects by next year's deadline. But Getz sure sounded ready to build around him, like the Sox tried to do in their failed contention window alongside the likes of Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez and Tim Anderson.
“We're open to adding to this team this offseason, so I expect to do that,” Getz said. “The most valuable thing here is having Luis Robert part of the equation, part of our lineup on a regular basis, and we're excited about that.”
While the Robert rumor mill had churned since last year, the writing had been on the wall for Houser's eventual exit since the Sox took a one-year, $1.35 million flier on the pitcher a month-and-a-half into this season.
The veteran righty was expected to help eat innings and mentor a stable of promising young arms, but pitching coach Ethan Katz & Co. got more than that as Houser fueled All-Star talk en route to 6-2 record with a 2.10 ERA.
Getz fielded offers for Houser from multiple teams, including talks with the Cubs that wound down to the final half-hour before the deadline.
But Getz ended up sending his bargain signing to Tampa for infielder Curtis Mead and right-handed pitching prospects Ben Peoples and Duncan Davitt, who will all report to Triple-A Charlotte.
Mead, whose prospect star has fallen over the past few seasons, has hit .226 with three home runs in 49 games for the Rays this season, mostly at first and second base. The 24-year-old Australian has hit .297/.371/.504 with 57 home runs over parts of seven minor-league seasons.
"He's not the first player that has had some Major League struggles early on,” Getz said, pointing to Miguel Vargas’ rebound this year for the Sox following last year’s trade deadline acquisition.
Davitt, 25, went 5-5 with a 4.08 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 19 starts between Double- and Triple-A this season. Peoples, 24, has gone 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 25 relief appearances at Triple-A.
The Sox only other deadline move came Wednesday when they sent outfielder Austin Slater to the Yankees for High-A righty Gage Ziehl, with Getz feeling confident in an improving young roster heading into a West Coast road trip this weekend riding an 8-4 start to the second half.
“In the last year and a half as general manager here, I've never been more excited to come into the ballpark,” he said.