On the heels of a gold glove award snubbing, Luis Robert Jr. finally gets recognition and wins his first major award in the big leagues. After a season where Robert was the best player on the Sox by far, this award is extremely deserving. For the season he had, he should have been in the running for MVP as well, but he will have to settle for the potential of being selected to the all-MLB team instead.
In 2023, Robert showed the potential everyone knew he had. He set a career-high in home runs, RBIS, and stolen bases, en route to his first all-star selection. This was the first season where he played over 100 games, so that is also a benchmark to be proud of. When Robert is healthy, he is a premier bat in the White Sox lineup and would be in any lineup.
Over 148 games, Robert slugged his way to 38 home runs and 80 RBIs. He could have potentially added to that total if he had not gotten hurt at the end of the season. This is exactly what the White Sox were hoping to get out of Robert when they spent a significant amount of money on him in international free agency. Despite the injuries, he has lived up to the hype.
Robert should be a cornerstone of the White Sox for years to come. He is truly the type of player that you can’t replace, as his five-tool skill set is hard to find these days. While Chris Getz says everyone is on the table, I don’t think he would consider a Robert trade just yet.
Robert is still just 26 years old and had one of the best WARs in all of baseball. If there is one player the Sox should build around, it’s him. He and Jake Burger could have formed a great middle-of-the-order duo for the next five years, but the White Sox had to ruin that by trading Burger to the Marlins.
The best part about Robert is his contract. He will be making 12 million next year, 15 the year after that, and has 20 million dollar options in 2026 and 2027. That is extremely cheap for a player of his caliber now, just wait until how cheap that is in a few years. There is no reason to trade him, as the White Sox can’t use the salary cap as an excuse.
Despite the uncertainty with the team, this is a nice win for Robert. He is the latest White Sox to win the award, and the first since 2020 when Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu, and Eloy Jimenez all won silver sluggers. Robert is just entering the prime of his career and will only get better. This will not be the only silver slugger he will put in his trophy case. Congratulations, Luis!
