Luis Robert Jr. Aiming For Health, Consistency With White Sox in 2026
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Uncertainty has surrounded Luis Robert Jr.’s future with the White Sox the last two seasons. But with each trade deadline and offseason benchmark, a deal hasn’t come to fruition.
So going into the 2026 season, the White Sox on Tuesday exercised a $20 million club option to keep Robert on the south side for the time being. That doesn’t prohibit a trade before the season begins, but White Sox general manager Chris Getz has consistently expressed commitment to Robert.
“We're planning on him being in a White Sox uniform,” Getz said Tuesday.
“From the beginning we've been open minded. And if there are opportunities for us to strengthen the organization, we'll have those conversations. But as it stands today, we're very much preparing for having Luis Robert play center field."
Robert excited to stay with White Sox
The news of Robert’s return was expected, as Getz said the night of the July 31 trade deadline that he anticipated picking up Robert’s option after not receiving a trade offer worthy of dealing the center fielder.
That moment was also a point of relief and confirmation for Robert, who didn’t want to leave the organization that signed him as a 19-year-old out of Cuba in 2017. He acknowledged the ups and downs over the course of his six-year MLB career, but now hopes to be part of an upward trajectory with White Sox.
“Once the trade deadline passed and the team didn’t trade me, I had that hope that I would stay here,” Robert said through a translator on Wednesday. “But I also understand that this is a business and anything could happen, right? But again, I was hoping that this would happen, that I would stay with the team. And like I’ve said before to you guys, this is the team where I want to play, the team I want to stay.”
Robert aiming for consistency
Robert’s career with the White Sox has come with a mix of high-level production, slumps and injuries, which has complicated both his future with the team and his trade value.
There’s hope he can return to his 2023 All-Star form, when he was worth 5.3 wins above replacement and was the American League Silver Slugger in center field. Stretches like his July 2025 production –– a .353 batting average and .990 OPS –– show a cornerstone player is still in there somewhere. And at minimum, he’s valuable as a strong defender and base stealer.
But hope hasn’t always been reality, as Robert hit below .200 in his first 80 games in 2025 and wound up playing just 110 games due to injury. He has surpassed that mark just once in six seasons, playing 145 games.
Unable to find a trade partner that would match Robert’s perceived value by the White Sox, Getz is now banking on Robert’s second half of 2025 being a sign of things to come –– as long as he can stay healthy.
“What he did in the second half was very indicative of what he's capable of doing and how that can impact our team,” Getz said. “You look at the production we had when he was in the lineup and oftentimes it helped us win baseball games.”
“The key for Luis Robert has been not only just being productive but being on the field. Obviously with the hamstring injury toward the end of the year, he missed some time. But prior to that with the adjustments he made going into the second half, that gave us confidence that this is someone we want to have in our lineup on a regular basis. We just need to find a way to get a productive six months of the season and a lot of that's keeping him on the field.”
Robert thought he was missing pitchers’ mistakes early in the 2025 season and overswinging, which led to him not seeing the ball all the way through. In the second half, he corrected that by simplifying his approach and swing.
Robert's offseason plans and aspirations for 2026
Now he wants to carry over what he did late in 2025 into 2026, and this time, put together a consistent season. That’s been the challenge throughout his White Sox tenure, with his career-high numbers coming in July and August and career-low numbers in March and April.
Robert said he’s been working on everything this offseason, from his hitting to his mind and body, with the main goal of staying healthy next season. He currently feels 100% and is trying to strengthen his legs in order to play a full season.
After ranking 11th in MLB with a career-high 33 stolen bases in 2025, he doesn’t plan on eliminating that from his game in order to avoid injury risk.
“No, the team hasn’t told me [not to run],” he said. “That’s something that I know to be cautious or smarter because that’s also part of my game. That’s something that I can control when I’m on base. That’s something that I need to be smarter on how to use that to my advantage.”
Going into his second year as manager, Will Venable and the White Sox staff will build a plan they hope will keep Robert on the field as much as possible.
“We have a plan with performance. We had it going into last year, we have it every year with Luis understanding the risk [of] injury and really have a mindful plan with all of our players,” Venable said. “Certainly a heightened awareness of Luis and his injury history. We'll roll out a similar plan this year and make sure we're doing everything to put him in the best spot to be healthy and be productive.”
“As far as him being on the field, this guy's a game changer. We all know that his skill set is incredible and he can make an impact on the field as much as anybody on this planet. To have him out there healthy, it makes all the difference in the world for us and we're excited to have him out there."
The White Sox made a 19-win improvement from 2024 to 2025, and with a healthy and productive Robert, they’re aiming for growth again in 2026. Intrigued by several young players who made their MLB debuts in 2025, Robert is aiming high next season.
“It was an exciting second half for us,” Robert said. “And I think that we’re able to sustain that performance and keep improving and developing. We want to be a team that’s going to be in contention for a playoff spot next season.”
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Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack
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