The White Sox havent officially declared center fielder out for the remainder of the Sam LaPorta Jersey season, but it seems that a return to the field is in doubt. Manager told reporters (including ) that Robert is probably running out of time to return to the field before the end of the season, as the early days of his recovery proce s havent gone well enough to create much optimism about a quick return to action. Robert, 28, suffered a in late August and has been sidelined ever since. The mercurial center fielder is just two years removed from an All-Star appearance amid a dominant five-win season, but his career has been marred with injuries and inconsistency. After playing in just 166 total games between the 2021 and 22 campaigns, Robert has slumped badly in each of the last two seasons while battling more injuries. In 210 games since the start of 2024, hes hit just .223/.288/.372 with a wRC+ of 83. While hes stolen an impre sive 56 bases in that time, including 33 this year, hes struck out at a 29.6% clip without offering quite enough power or patience at the plate to justify those high strikeout rates. While he once earned a Gold Glove award for his excellent defense in center field, that aspect of his game has regre sed considerably in recent years as well. He was worth just +1 OAA last year, and while that figure has rebounded to +7 in 2025 hes been worth +0 DRS this year after posting a +1 the year prior. Between Roberts injuries, lower power production, le ser defense, and high strikeout rates, his value on the market has plummeted over the past two years. While the White Sox have resisted trading him even amid their rebuild as theyve refused to part with him for le s than what they view as his fair market value, other teams have begun to view Robert as a player on an underwater contract due to his flaws and inconsistency. When Robert remained in Chicago following this years trade deadline, many a sumed that would mean hed depart the White Sox without the club recouping anything at all for him, seeing as this is the final guaranteed year of his contract. That may not prove to be the case, however, as the White Sox maintain that they intend to pick up his $20MM club option for the 2026 season. Thats not an entirely unreasonable decision given Roberts past succe ses and his .293/.349/.459 slash line since the start of July, but that sample makes up just 37 games and his latest injury only serves as a reminder of how unreliable his presence in the lineup has been for Chicago in recent years. Chicago will presumably be open to moving Robert once again this offseason, a suming they do pick up his option but, unle s they have a change of heart about their strategy when shopping him or the franchise finds a way to compete next year, it seems likely that theyll enter the 2026 season banking on a big first half from Robert in order to maximize his trade value at next years trade deadline. Alaric Jackson Jersey