Where does Robert fit in White Sox's future? Time will tell
Just over a year ago the Nationals were well on the way to a 100-plus-loss season and they were looking to the future.
They still had Juan Soto under contractual control through 2024, and they tried locking up the star outfielder even longer with a staggering 15-year, $440 million extension offer.
Soto declined, and he was soon traded to the Padres for five of San Diego's best prospects.
Two of them - shortstop C.J. Abrams and starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore - are rising stars for Washington, and outfielders Robert Hassell and James Wood and starter Jarlin Susana are potential impact talents.
This season, the White Sox are flirting with 100 losses. There have already been massive roster changes, and executive VP Kenny Williams and general manager Rick Hahn were fired Tuesday.
Whoever takes over for Williams and Hahn is going to have a mountain of work waiting.
Assuming he is back in 2024, Pedro Grifol has been saying he won't be managing a team going through a full-blown rebuild.
That's some heavy wishful thinking at this point, and that's where Luis Robert Jr. comes into play.
Far and away the Sox's best player, Robert is having an MVP-caliber season.
Heading into Friday night's game against the Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field, the 26-year-old center fielder ranked second in the American League with 34 home runs and eighth with 30 doubles while hitting .265/.320/.554.
"I know he's still chasing (pitches) some, but not that much," Grifol said. "He's understanding what pitches and what parts of the zone he can do damage on. And the interesting thing with him is that he'll hammer breaking balls, he'll hammer change-ups and fastballs, if they're in the zone.
"He really doesn't have a weakness on any pitch that's in the strike zone and he's starting to really recognize that."
Defensively, Robert is just as good - or better.
Few if any MLB center fielders cover as much ground or throw better, and Robert should win his second Gold Glove this year. He claimed the first one in 2020.
"I think this year I've been better than my previous years, even better than 2020," Robert said through a translator. "I've been doing a better job reading the ball, and it has been a big difference."
In Thursday night's loss to Oakland, Robert made a leaping catch at the fence to take a home run away from Brent Rooker. It's the third HR he's robbed this season.
"In 2020, I was just running behind the ball and sometimes I crashed against the wall," Robert said. "I wasn't paying too much attention to the wall. Now, I'm more aware of where the wall is, I'm able on those plays to jump and kind of soften the crash a little bit."
Robert is a one-man wrecking crew, but his skills are going to waste on a terrible White Sox team.
Maybe the new front office determines the Sox would be better off trading Robert, who is signed through 2025 with $20 million club options for 2026 and '27. Maybe they want a package full of young talent like the Nationals got from the Padres.
Or, maybe the White Sox decide to build around Robert and hope for better days ahead.
Stay tuned.