Robert won’t play for rest of season
White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. will finish the season on the injured list after suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee in the 3-2 victory against the Red Sox on Sunday.
The Sox on Tuesday characterized the sprain as “mild” and said the All-Star, with rest and rehabilitation, is expected to recover in two to four weeks.
Robert exited shortly after sliding awkwardly to complete his 20th stolen base of the season. He played the outfield in the first inning and then came out and was evaluated Monday in Chicago. He suggested the wet dirt on a rainy day was a factor, “but I didn’t position my knee in the right way, and that contributed to that, too,” he said through translator Billy Russo.
“I felt something in my knee, and right away I knew something was wrong,” Robert said.
Outfielder Tyler Naquin was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to take Robert’s spot on the roster.
Robert played in 145 games, falling short of his goal of 150.
“I’m proud of playing as many games as I did,” Robert said. “I’ve said to you guys that if I’m ever healthy enough to play every day, I know I’m able to do good things on the field. That’s why to me it’s the biggest accomplishment for me this year.”
Robert finished with a .264/.315/.542 batting line, an .857 OPS, 38 homers, 36 doubles, 80 RBI and 90 runs scored. He joined Magglio Ordonez in 2001 as the only Sox player to accomplish 35-plus doubles, 30-plus homers and 20-plus steals in a season.
“I told him, ‘You’ve had a great year,’ ’’ manager Pedro Grifol said. “‘You’ve played more than you ever have. You’ve played through pain, played through soreness.
You’ve done everything on the baseball field that you could possibly do. Don’t worry about the numbers you think you need to put on next year. Just worry about improving. Let’s improve the ability to not chase as much, and then let’s see what happens.’ ’’
Lackluster loss
Grifol said after Tuesday’s 15-4 loss to the Diamondbacks that giving full effort shouldn’t be an issue even for a team with little to play for in the last week of the season.
“We get paid to do this, and people pay to watch us play, so it should not be,” Grifol said. Was that missing Tuesday?
“Early on it wasn’t,” Grifol said. “Once you get behind and the game gets out of
hand, that happens.”
Kopech a starter
General manager Chris Getz said Michael Kopech, who had a cyst removed from his right knee, which ended his season, is projected to start in 2024, despite his struggles.
“I know there’s some tweaks we can make with his arsenal,” Getz said. “But we’ve seen the fastball capabilities, we’ve
seen the slider capabilities. We need a consistent third pitch.”
This and that
Nearly all available $1 seats for Thursday afternoon’s game, with the exception of a few single ones throughout the lower level, have been sold. The Sox made a limited number of standing room only tickets available, and those are also nearly sold out.
Right-hander Jimmy Lambert was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle Sept. 20 and is expected to fully recover in two to three months.
Right-hander Gregory Santos has a forearm flexor strain, Getz said.