Fansided

Luis Robert and 3 White Sox who need to be benched ASAP

By Cody Williams

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 26: Luis Robert Jr. #8 of the Chicago White Sox bats against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 26, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 26: Luis Robert Jr. #8 of the Chicago White Sox bats against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on April 26, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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Luis Robert, White Sox
Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

The Chicago White Sox are baseball’s punching bag right now and, after Luis Robert was benched on Saturday, more underperformers need to follow.

Entering the seventh inning against the Rays on Saturday, the Chicago White Sox had a 3-0 lead and Lance Lynn was working a no-hitter. Naturally, the Southsiders gave up 10 runs in the seventh frame and went on to lose 12-3 and drop to a dismal 7-21 on the season, tied for the second-worst record in baseball through the end of April.

Not only did the White Sox collapse in a microcosm for their disastrous start to the 2023 season but we also saw the pitiful display of effort from 25-year-old potential star outfielder Luis Robert. In the first inning of the eventual loss to Tampa Bay, Robert hit a chopper to the left side that should’ve been a close play at first.

Instead, Robert failed to hustle down the first-base line and was thrown out relatively easily. He was subsequently benched for his lack of hustle and offered only a lame, unacceptable excuse after the game for the lack of effort, citing “tight hamstrings” that he didn’t tell anyone about.

Sure.

Robert is now the poster child for the White Sox struggles this season, but he’s not the only player on the Southside of Chicago that needs to take a seat on the bench.

4. White Sox have already benched Luis Robert and need to hold true

The lack of hustle in the first inning of a game is reason enough for Robert to be benched in the first place. But the 25-year-old outfielder has also not been performing up to part this season as a whole, especially as of late.

For the season, Robert is slashing a measly .213/.248/.407 with a team-high 33 strikeouts. Yes, he has five home runs and 13 RBI, but they need him to simply get on base more than he is if the White Sox are going to have any hope of producing runs more consistently.

As mentioned, though, it’s been even worse of late. Over the last 15 days, Robert is just 5-for-51 with no home runs and two RBI to his credit while also drawing just four walks. That’s “good” for a slash line of .098/.179/.137.

This is supposed to be one of the stars and lead-by-performance players on the roster in Chicago. He’s decidedly not taking care of that and, frankly, something has to change.

For what it’s worth, Robert was not in the lineup for the Sunday series finale against the Rays with the hamstring issue being listed as the reason.

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