No trade, no problem for Robert, who's happy to still be with Sox

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Luis Robert Jr. admits the possibility of playing for a World Series contender intrigued him, and had things played out the way many expected before Thursday’s trade deadline, 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 Sox for the opener of a three-game series against the Angels.

“I was ready to go to contender, because I knew if I got traded, I would go to a contender,” Robert said through an interpreter. “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 actually 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 the 6-2, 225-pound native of Cuba hit .224 with a .657 OPS, 14 homers and 35 RBI in 100 games and missed two months of the season because of a right hip-flexor strain.

Through three months of 2025, the question wasn’t whether the Sox would trade Robert, but rather would he be good enough to generate a decent return. Robert torpedoed his value by hitting just .185 with a .584 OPS, eight homers and 32 RBI in 73 games through the end of June.

But Robert heated up in July, batting .370 (17-for-46) with a .990 OPS, three homers, 11 RBI and five stolen bases in 13 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 is in the final year of a six-year, $50-million contract, but none of the offers “met the mark for us to move on from a talent like Luis Robert,” Getz said.

How quickly things change in one month. Instead of trading Robert for prospects, the Sox now 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 paying 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]. Certainly, I’m glad that we got him beyond the break. There was a lot of interest in him. Everybody wants a guy like Lu on their team.”

Robert’s productive bat, along with the hot streaks of rookies such as 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.

“I think he's kind of gotten out of his shell a little bit the last couple of months, and you can see the confidence back in him when he's up at the plate, just his swings, everything,” White Sox pitcher Jonathan Cannon said of Robert. “You can just tell he’s got his approach back, and that's been really fun to see.”

Robert has seemed pretty relaxed at the plate for a solid month now.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” said Robert 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 night. The Sox recalled outfielder Corey Julks from triple-A Charlotte and optioned outfielder Will Robertson back to Charlotte.

† Chase Meidroth, who left Wednesday’s game against the Phillies after being hit on the right thumb by a pitch in the fifth inning, was not in the lineup, but manager Will Venable said the infielder had “bounced back well” from the injury and was available in “a limited capacity.”