'Real Possibility' Luis Robert Jr. Remains With Chicago White Sox Amid Trade Rumors

CHICAGO –– Trading Luis Robert Jr. has felt like a forgone conclusion at times, given the amount of rumors around MLB and discussion of the topic from Robert himself and White Sox general manager Chris Getz for more than a year.

That may still be the case, as Getz said he expects to be "fairly active" before the July 31 trade deadline. But he also shared a contrasting perspective before Monday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Rate Field.

When mapping out the next few seasons, could he see Robert as part of future White Sox teams?

"That’s a real possibility," Getz said. "When you still watch Luis Robert play, you are looking at a guy who can change the game pretty quickly and in a lot of different ways. Those types of players are hard to find. That’s the reason why there’s a lot of attention on Luis Robert, because he’s earned that right. He’s performed at a high level, and to find talent like that is not easy. Obviously he’s been more productive in the past, but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in the potential here with the Chicago White Sox."

"We’ve never been out there making phone calls about Luis Robert. It’s teams calling us and we have conversations, and we stick to the plan that we’ve been working by so far in which if we feel like we can help the long term health of the organization, so be it. We like having Luis Robert and I enjoy having him in the lineup on a nightly basis."

Robert's trade value has likely dropped in line with his numbers, which are nearly all career-worst marks in 2025 across his six major league seasons. Going into Monday's game, he was slashing .185/.267/.305 with seven home runs, 31 RBIs, 27 walks and 87 strikeouts.

That's a far cry from his 2023 All-Star season, when he won a Silver Slugger award and finished 12th in AL MVP voting with 38 home runs and an .857 OPS. Teams may still see value in his speed and defense, as he ranks fourth in MLB with 22 stolen bases and in the 86th percentile of fielding run value, per Baseball Savant.

But Robert's steep drop-off at the plate – and why he hasn't gotten back on track – has been puzzling for the White Sox.

"It’s tough to really pinpoint," Getz said. "His bat speed is still there. You look at how hard he’s hitting the ball. There are plenty of indicators in there that show he’s maintaining his athleticism as a player in the box. The decision-making and contact ability, yeah, there’s some frustrating times. The strikeouts, although there are times when he’s striking out and he’s getting frustrated, there’s also, you look at his history with some of the swing and miss, it has been in there."

"So we are continuing to work with him. He shows up every day very motivated. Sometimes in baseball it just clicks and you don’t really know why. But it’s certainly not going to click if someone doesn’t have the right work ethic and that’s not the case with Luis. He’s a pro and wants to get this right."

A key factor in this situation is Robert's contract. He's due $15 million in 2025, followed by $20 million club options in both 2026 and 2027. That could affect the White Sox willingness to keep him, or their eagerness to trade him, as well as whether opposing teams would take on that money.

Getz also addressed whether news from June 5 that Justin Ishbia will "make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations" means more money for the White Sox to pay free agents, or perhaps Robert, next season.

"Like I said from the jump when it was announced that Justin was becoming, he’s buying up more shares in the club, it’s really about supporting the long term vision of the organization," Getz said. "We feel like if there’s talent out there that we feel like can really help us, then we’ll go out and do that. In the meantime, it’s been a foundational approach. We are sticking to what it takes to improve all areas of the organization and not just relying on free agent spending. That time will come without question. We are much more focused on developing the crew we have up here and developing the players in the minor leagues."

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