Mets' Luis Robert Jr. reflects on career with White Sox, return to Chicago, another injury-riddled season
· Yahoo Sports
For the first time since getting traded to the Mets in the offseason, Luis Robert Jr. returns to the South Side of Chicago, where he began his career and played for six seasons.
During his stint with the White Sox, Robert totaled 102 home runs, 115 doubles and 102 steals while slashing .259/.313/.455 for a .767 OPS in just 577 games as he struggled to stay on the field consistently.
Visit mchezo.life for more information.
“It was a time where there was a lot of highs and lows, both personally as a player but also for the team,” Robert said through an interpreter. “When I first got here, the team played really well, but those last few years we didn’t get the job done that we wanted to. But at the same time I can look back at it as a beautiful journey and a beautiful experience for me.”
Robert’s best season came in 2023 when he belted 38 home runs and 36 doubles to go along with 20 steals while driving in 80 runs and hitting .264. That year, the center fielder also played a career-high 145 games and was selected to his first and only All-Star Game.
In prime position for his career to take off from there, the 29-year-old had back-to-back disappointing seasons as injuries continued to pile up for him.
Traded to the Mets for Luisangel Acuña – in the White Sox lineup on Friday night batting seventh and playing shortstop – in the offseason as a potential high-ceiling player who could benefit from a change of scenery, Robert has once again been unable to stay on the field, playing in just 49 games.
“This season has been pretty similar to how other parts of my career have gone where I’ve been hurt, where I’ve been off the field,” he said. “But I think right now the most important thing for me is to finish the season strong and just go out there and try to be the best version of myself.”
While Robert has been hitting the ball better over his last 15 games, he’s still hitting just .215 with a .652 OPS and has even been plucked from his center field position to a foray in left field to give way to the rookie A.J. Ewing’s development.
Robert, who missed a significant amount of time this year due to a lumbar spine disc herniation, admitted that it’s been a difficult, albeit familiar, season.
“It’s difficult when you prepare yourself all offseason to be healthy, you work on your body and for it to happen the way that it did this season is just really disappointing,” he said.
As for his return to Chicago, Robert said it’s exciting but also a weird feeling coming back as a visitor and is unsure how the fans will react to him in the game, although he hopes it’s a positive reaction.
He also mentioned he’s not surprised that the White Sox (66-61, first place in the AL Central) have played well this season following three consecutive seasons of 100 or more losses.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Robert said. “Before I got traded in the offseason, I saw the moves that they were making and the necessary moves to improve the team and that’s what they were doing, so seeing how they’re playing right now doesn’t surprise me at all.”