For manager Grady Sizemore, Luis Robert, Jr.'s plight is familiar

In Saturday night’s 7-6 win over the Athletics, Luis Robert, Jr. had the kind of night White Sox fans hope to see more of: He went 3-for-4 and made a running catch in the fourth inning to save a run from scoring. But on the whole, Robert, Jr.’s offensive production this year has fallen off mightily from his 2023 campaign, when he was healthy enough to log his first full season and posted an .857 OPS with 38 home runs and 36 doubles. 

There are two weeks left of this season, so Robert, Jr. isn’t going to right the ship – there just isn’t time – so the question becomes whether he can look in 2025 more like last year’s version of himself. 

The key component to that might be health; Robert, Jr. hit the injured list in the first week of April with a right hip flexor strain and didn’t return until June 4. By then, the direction of the Sox season was already clear, but Robert, Jr. could have at least provided a glimmer of hope for the future. At the plate at least, he hasn’t. Across the board, Robert, Jr. has had the worst season of his career by just about every metric. 

But although Robert, Jr. has been healthy since coming back from the injured list in early June, there might be other factors playing a role in his performance. One, the Sox offense ranks last in the league in runs scored (by over 100 runs) and they have a team wRC+ of 73 (100 is considered league average). That can create a lot of pressure for a hitter like Robert, Jr. to jumpstart production.

“You put all the pressure on yourself,” manager Grady Sizemore said. “Every time you get a guy up, you’re trying to put the ball in the seats, you’re trying to hit a double. I think this game is so hard, and a lot of times the harder you try, the worse you do.”

Sizemore knows something about being the centerpiece of a batting order. During his best seasons as a player in Cleveland in the mid-2000s, he was often the bat in the lineup expected to produce. And things were different for Sizemore from what Robert, Jr. is experiencing. During Sizemore’s best seasons, Cleveland was good. They won 93 games in 2005 when Sizemore had an .832 OPS, and in 2007, when Sizemore had one of the strongest seasons of his career, Cleveland won 96 games and went to the American League Championship Series.

If Sizemore felt pressure to perform at the plate with those teams, Robert, Jr.’s plight in 2024 must only be more intense. 

“When you get off to a slow start and your team’s not winning, it’s hard to slow it down, it’s hard not to put the pressure on yourself and play tense and get tight. I know that from experience,” Sizemore said. “All those guys, [Robert, Jr.] and [Andrew Benintendi] and [Andrew] Vaughn were all doing that early in the year. We’re all trying to be the guy, the hero to come up big and be the clutch guy to have the big season to carry us through there. 

“And sometimes when we’re all struggling, it’s a domino effect. You just can’t get over it.”

His early-April injury added another layer of complexity for Robert, Jr. Since debuting in 2020, injuries have plagued Robert, Jr. in every season but last year. Repeatedly working to come back from injury and be able to perform on the field takes a mental toll, and that’s also something Sizemore can empathize with. 

He was easily the most dynamic and exciting outfielder in baseball and arguably on his way to a Hall of Fame career during his early years, but beginning in 2009, injuries brought that to a halt. Sizemore suffered an array of ailments, and his career sputtered to an end in 2015 when he was just 32. Through those injury-marred seasons, he felt much of what Robert, Jr. has dealt with.

“The mental side is probably the biggest side. I think it’s hard not to be down or get negative when you’re hurt and you’re not on the field,” Sizemore said. “When you’re watching your guys compete every night and you’re not out there, there’s probably no worse feeling. So I think coming back into it is also a challenge just because you haven’t been there. You’re trying to get the reps, you’re trying to make up for lost time. It’s tough.

“I know when you’re away, mentally it can be draining. It can be taxing.”

In some ways, Sizemore might be the perfect mentor for Robert, Jr. His demeanor and Robert, Jr.’s are similar, and he can relate to a lot of what Robert, Jr. continues to go through. Sizemore said he does not try to impose his wisdom on any of the players and that because Robert, Jr. is a pretty quiet guy, getting to know him has taken a little longer than some of the other players in the locker room.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no guidance taking place. Sizemore said the way Robert, Jr. carries himself in the clubhouse sets the right kind of example for the rest of the team, and he chooses to pick his spots with the quiet center fielder. Sometimes, that means just trying to put a smile on Robert, Jr.’s face in the midst of a very challenging season, Sizemore said.

And things haven’t been all bad: Even though the production at the plate hasn’t been there, Robert, Jr. has still played defense in center field at a level commensurate with the rest of his career. He might not be hitting as much, but Sizemore has been pleased with the jumps to the ball Robert, Jr. has been getting in the outfield, and the way he’s been running has left Sizemore optimistic about Robert, Jr.’s future.

In light of general manager Chris Getz’s recent comments about the upcoming offseason and free agency (“We’re not going to be heavy in free agency. We’ve got guys on the field right now who need to improve their game.”) the pressure on Robert, Jr. to bounce back is going to be considerable. But the guy at the helm in the dugout is a believer.

“There’s so many bright years ahead of him. He’s too gifted, too talented to not bounce back,” Sizemore said.

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