Luis Robert Jr. is on the move again, and this time the Orioles are the team betting on the upside.
Baltimore claimed the former White Sox star off waivers from the Mets, sending him into a new stop after New York moved on before he could even finish a full season there. The White Sox traded Robert to the Mets in January for Luisangel Acuna, a deal that now looks like a lose-lose after Robert’s latest shakeup.
The Orioles are taking a $5 million gamble on a player whose talent has never been in doubt. Bob Nightengale reported: “The Baltimore Orioles take a $5 million gamble and claim CF Luis Robert Jr from the Mets. @chelsea_janes on it.”
For Baltimore, the timing matters. Just two weeks ago, the club looked buried after being swept at home by the New York Yankees and falling six games under .500.
Since then, the Orioles have steadied themselves with back-to-back series wins over the Rays and Cardinals, then followed that with a sweep of the Athletics in Sacramento this weekend. They enter the week at 68-69, just one game behind the AL’s third Wild Card spot, and Robert now drops into the middle of that race.
He also arrives with plenty of questions attached.
Robert, 29, spent much of his first season away from Chicago fighting injuries again. A back issue sent him to the injured list on April 30, and he didn’t get back into the Mets lineup until July 20.
In 58 games, he hit .223/.303/.399 with 10 home runs and a .702 OPS. With AJ Ewing’s promotion, Robert has moved to left field, even though center has long been his best defensive home.
He should still find at-bats right away in an Orioles outfield that has been hit hard by injuries.
That’s the story of Robert at this stage: the flashes still jump off the page, but the interruptions keep piling up. He can still look like one of the best players in baseball, with light tower power, real speed, and a five-tool profile that’s rare in today’s game.
But the frustration has always traveled alongside the talent. During his White Sox years, he battled soft-tissue injuries over and over, and his approach at the plate left plenty of people shaking their heads.
Now the Mets have cut bait, and they’ve done it for nothing in Robert’s first season with the club. That only makes the modest return the White Sox received look even smaller.
And with Chicago still in the American League playoff picture, there’s at least a chance this all circles back into a postseason series against Robert. Wouldn’t that be something.
In Other News...
White Sox Just Added A Veteran Bat With Bigger Stakes Than Expected
The White Sox have added a familiar veteran bat in Tommy Pham, a move that gives the club another experienced option as it keeps pressing for a postseason berth. Pham, a 13-year MLB veteran, had been playing for the Phillies Triple-A affiliate before Philadelphia dealt him to Chicago, and the fit is straightforward enough: a seasoned outfielder with big-league time and a track record of being ready when called on.
For a White Sox team still trying to turn momentum into something more meaningful, the stakes attached to this pickup are bigger than a typical late-season depth move. Pham is headed straight onto the roster, and Chicago is clearly hoping his presence can help steady the lineup as the race tightens and every series starts to carry a little more weight. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Suddenly Have Another Pitcher Pushing For A Quick Return
David Sandlin gave the White Sox organization a timely reminder of how quickly a pitching prospect can change the conversation. In the second game of Saturdays doubleheader, he worked seven scoreless innings in a complete game and missed plenty of bats along the way, piling up 16 whiffs on 91 pitches. Even with that being his only outing of the week, it was enough to land him second on the latest Baseball America Hot Sheet and put his name back in the mix as one of the more interesting arms in the system.
For a farm system that has been cycling through uneven results and scattered bright spots, Sandlins outing stood out because it looked nothing like a developmental placeholder. It came in the middle of a week that also included the usual round of minor league updates across the affiliates, but his performance carried the kind of force that gets noticed quickly in an organization looking for pitching help. The bigger question now is how fast that momentum translates into his next opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Face Two Tough September Call Up Decisions
September brings a little roster flexibility, and for the White Sox that means a chance to bring two more players up from Charlotte when MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1. The plan is straightforward enough on paper: add another arm to help a taxed bullpen and get one more position player into the mix, with the Charlotte Knights providing the most obvious options as the calendar flips into the final month.
Kyle Teel is part of the conversation, along with utility player Rikuu Nishida and a few other familiar names, while the pitching side points toward possible reinforcements such as David Sandlin and Jonathan Cannon. For a club trying to balance development with the practical demands of September, the decisions go beyond filling spots, because every call-up shapes how the White Sox finish the season and what they learn from these last weeks. [Read more 🡒]