Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. is one of the more likely players to be traded at the deadline. Come late July, MLB contenders will be desperate for talent, even if those players haven't performed up to their usual standard. The White Sox have been waiting to unload Robert Jr. for the better part of a year. However, he had just a .657 OPS in 2024, and has hit under the Mendoza line for the majority of 2025. He also cannot stay healthy long enough to hit his stride, a problem which reared its ugly head again on Wednesday.
Robert Jr. is consistently on hug watch. Every time he is pulled from a White Sox game, fans assume he will be traded any minute. So far, that has proven not to be the case, but rather Robert Jr. is suffering from lingering issues, specifically related to his lower body. On Wednesday, it was left hamstring tightness.
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Will the Chicago White Sox trade Luis Robert Jr.?
The odds are overwhelmingly in the White Sox's favor. Luis Robert Jr. is a former AL All-Star who, with a team that can help fix his swing, can be a five-tool player. That potential alone is sure to attract plenty of suitors, especially since Robert Jr. isn't on an expiring contract. That being said, that contract is also why the White Sox will be asking for a lot in any trade for their young outfielder. Unless Chris Getz is willing to budge, he'll be disappointed for the second-straight deadline. Here is what ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote about Robert Jr.'s trade prospects this week:
"Robert has been extremely unlucky with ball-in-play results this season, so that could turn around at any point. He remains a strong defender and baserunner. But the .185/.267/.305 line is unsightly, and his trade value has cratered over the past two seasons. He has a pair of $20 million-a-year club options that the acquiring team will be hesitant to exercise absent a turnaround," Passan wrote.
White Sox asking price for Luis Robert Jr. is too high for contenders
Passan is higher on Robert Jr. than we are. Luck in baseball can be measured to some extent, but we have a large enough sample size from the White Sox star to suggest that...he might not be the AL All-Star we thought he was back in 2023. That is okay, but it also makes what the White Sox are asking for all the more unrealistic. Robert Jr. has played over 100 games only twice in his MLB career, with the most coming in 2023. In 2024 he played in literally 100, and at this rate he may struggle to reach that mark in 2025.
Acquiring Robert Jr. comes with inherited injury risk, along with the potential that he never reaches his previous heights again. That's enough for pretty much any contender to balk, especially if the asking price is high.