Luis Robert Jr. Productive In Return To Chicago White Sox Lineup After Three Days Off

CHICAGO –– The White Sox held Luis Robert Jr. out of the starting lineup three straight games, in hopes that adjustments would snap him out of his slump.

Early returns were positive. In Friday’s 7-2 win over the Royals, Robert went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, one walk and a strikeout. He singled to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the second, then ignited a five-run eighth inning with a two-RBI single.

“Really nice to see,” manager Will Venable said postgame. “And beyond the results, he looked confident and comfortable and athletic at the plate. He looked on time, which is what we wanted to see. So really happy that he put in all that hard work and got some results here on the front end of this little reset for him.”

Robert was happy to be back in the lineup, but he also understood the decision behind holding him out.

“I know all they do is for me to get better. And I take that,” Robert said Friday. “I’m a person that I’m open to the suggestions and I just want to get better too. … It all started with the suggestion of taking a couple of days off to try to take off the stress of the game when you are not getting the results. The other part was working throughout those days and get better.”

The initial plan was for Robert to take Tuesday and Wednesday off from game action. But that extended to Thursday as a precaution after a ball ricocheted off his head in the batting cage.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz compared this approach with Robert to what Miguel Vargas did on his way to winning American League Player of the Week in mid-May.

"[Giving him] he days off is certainly by design,” Getz said Friday. “We did it earlier in the year with Miguel Vargas, and he made some material changes in his swing and we got him rolling. We're taking a similar approach with Luis to clear his mind, make some physical adjustments to give him confidence in the box. [Friday] will be a chance to see how those adjustments are going. How he does tonight won't dictate whether we feel like we're on the right track or not, because this game is about continual adjustments.”

“But I know he hasn't been happy with his production. We know that there's more in there. We expect more. He's been really strong defensively, which has allowed us to continue to throw him out there. We still feel good when he's in the lineup. He's still a threat. Look at what he's doing on the base paths, creating havoc there, and he's at the top of the major leagues in stolen bases. There's different ways to bring value to this club. And once we get the offense going, which we're confident is going to happen, we're going to feel even better about things."

Robert said he didn’t make any big changes to his swing, but he’s trying to let the ball get deeper. Venable thought Robert kept a taller posture on Friday, which he views as a positive. Robert ran into issues earlier in the season diving out over the plate and reaching for balls out of the zone.

Venable didn’t see that on Friday, but in a positive sense, one of Robert’s base hits up the middle came on a pitch on the outer half. He drove the other single to the opposite field, which is part of his focus going forward.

“I think I was so concerned by hitting homers and pulling the ball that I kind of got of whack,” Robert said. “Now, I’m more focused on hitting the ball to the opposite field and if I pull the ball, it’s good. But that is not my priority.”

In addition to the adjustments and results, Venable was happy to see Robert look comfortable and confident at the plate. Robert said earlier in the season that he was overthinking at the plate, but now he’s trying to be ready for fastballs and react. Friday was a step in the right direction, though Robert – slashing .185/.275/.567 with five home runs, 23 RBIs, 25 walks, 69 strikeouts and 21 stolen bases – knows there’s still work to do.

“I feel like I did a good job today letting the ball get, run deep, right,” Robert said. “But at the same time, there was a couple of times where I felt I was being late on my swings. It’s an adjustment.”

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