Fastball

Chicago White Sox Holding Breath on Injury Fate of Superstar CF

The Chicago White Sox, already one of the worst teams in baseball, are dealing with the possibility of an extended absence for superstar outfielder Luis Robert Jr.

Brady Farkas

Apr 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88)
Apr 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) / Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago White Sox were dealt a tough hand on multiple fronts on Friday night, losing to the Kansas City Royals and seeing superstar outfielder Luis Robert Jr. leave the game early with a hip flexor injury.

Per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times on social media:

Right hip flexor. Robert injured his right hip flexor in 2021.

The Sox lost to the Royals, 2-1, to fall to 1-6 on the young season. Projected to have among the worst records in baseball, the Sox have gotten surprisingly good pitching this season and have lost four games by one run already at this point.

Already dealing with an injury to slugging outfielder Eloy Jimenez, the team can ill-afford to lose Robert Jr., the only real threat they have offensively at this point. Considering Robert Jr. has already dealt with hip flexor injuries before, the team could be in for an extended absence without him. He missed about three months of the 2021 season with that version of the injury.

The 26-year-old Cuban broke out in a big way in 2023, making the American League All-Star team and hitting .264 with 38 homers and 80 RBI. He also stole 20 bases and finished 12th in the American League MVP Award voting.

Lifetime, Robert Jr. is a .278 hitter with a .325 on-base percentage. He has 76 career home runs. He also owns a Silver Slugger Award and a Gold Glove.

The White Sox will wait for imaging to come in before making any decisions on Robert Jr., but if 2021 is any indication, the Sox could be in for an even rougher season if he's forced to miss significant time.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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