Struggling Luis Robert Jr. at core of struggling White Sox woes

OAKLAND, Calif. – There are myriad reasons why this 2024 season unraveled.

There’s the thin roster, one that got wafer-thin after the trade deadline. And injuries.

And sporadic defense to go with fundamental miscues.

Two players, Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde, are having good years, and Fedde was one of six dealt away at the trade deadline.

Absent from the list is center fielder Luis Robert Jr., a 2023 All-Star and by most assessments a budding superstar. Robert, who missed two months with a hip flexor strain, is healthy again but is batting .208/.274/.416 with 12 homers in 61 game, and was 10-for-71 with one homer in his last 17 games after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the Athletics' 3-2 come-from-behind victory Wednesday.

Robert has sputtered along for the bulk of the Sox current stretch of 25 losses in 27 games, including an American League record 21-game losing streak halted Tuesday.

Robert has 17 stolen bases, and his 14 since July 1 lead the AL. So he’s running well and demonstrating 30/30 home run and stolen base ability.

But Robert's under-performance hindered any ideas the Sox may have had about dealing him in late July, and without Robert’s bat, an offense ranking last in baseball and runs and multiple other categories had no chance of being a threat.

“There have been days where I haven’t found that consistency that I want,” Robert, through translator Billy Russo, told the Sun-Times Wednesday. “I’m still trying to get that.

“It’s more about the mental part. When things aren’t going your way, you start thinking more, hesitate and doubt a little bit. That’s the hardest thing to fight. That’s what I’m dealing with.”

Robert has been prone to chasing pitches out of the strike zone, especially on balls in the dirt, and some indecision.

“I just think he’s pressing, I really do,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He came in with all intentions of not chasing and he was doing a better job of that but he was also not swinging in the strike zone. His percentage of prime swings in the strike zone were down as well.

“He’s got abilities to be a superstar and people forget about how young this kid is. He’s still learning. He’s really learning the game, learning himself. Every single day he’s gathering information that will help him in the future. I think he’s going to be a superstar for a long time.”

Robert says he’s not trying to carry a bad team on his shoulders but it seems a given he’s internalizing his struggles.

“It doesn’t matter the situation as a team,” he said. :”As a professional you go out and do your best and that’s what I’m trying to do. If you take care of the things you can take care of individually, you’re going to help the team. It doesn’t matter how the team is. You don’t have to put extra pressure on yourself.”

In 2023, when he hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers and 36 doubles, it came easy.

“That’s the thing. When you’re going good you don’t have to think about anything,’ he said. “When you’re struggling, that’s where the spiral goes. You have to get back to how things feel and your process.”

A day after stopping that horrendous streak, the Sox went back to losing in painful fashing, blowing right-hander’s first career game of six innings with no runs allowed. Andrew Benintendi’s home run against Joey Estes in the second, his second in two nights and third in four games, gave Davis a 2-0 lead.

But the A’s scored three in the seventh against Touki Toussaint and Dominic Leone. So much for a second consecutive win for the first time since late June and so much for the first series win since taking the Rockies on June 28-30.