Luis Robert excited to join White Sox Cuban heritage
By Jose Romero
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The rebuilding of the Chicago White Sox into a contender will most likely include Luis Robert at some point. When he’s healthy, the tall, rangy slugger from Cuba has shown his organization plenty of potential.
When the call to the South Side of Chicago comes, Robert will join a tradition of standout Cuban baseball players to have played for the Sox. It’s a big reason he chose to sign with the team.
There has been Minnie Miñoso. Alexei Ramírez. José Contreras. Orlando “El Duque” Hernández.
Two are on the team now, Yoán Moncada and José Abreu and they were there to give advice to Robert during spring training. In July of 2017, Chicago made a big production out of the day Moncada was called up. A similar welcome must be on Robert’s mind.
“It makes me glad to be part of that tradition,” Robert said. “Several Cubans have come through the White Sox and had good results here. I just want to play well like they did.”
Moneyball
Robert, like Moncada, signed a huge contract, which came just a few months after he left Cuba at age 19.
“For Cuban players who want to play in the U.S., these contracts are a great opportunity to get out of our economic situation, live in America and move forward.”
The White Sox’s No. 3-ranked prospect, per MLB.com, is aware of the pressure a $26 million signing bonus carries with it. The money has undoubtedly changed Robert’s life.
“It’s something that’s always on your mind because of the fans,” Robert said when asked if he feels he has to live up to such an investment. “They always have comments. But all you can do is your best. The team invested in you and signed you with big expectations, but I’m just doing my work. If it pays off, great. If not, it doesn’t.”
Arizona Experience
Just 21 years old, Robert is more than holding his own against the best of the best from the minor leagues in the Arizona Fall League.
Robert was batting .338 in 16 games as of November 12. He made the Fall Stars West team despite playing the fewest amount of games of any hitter on the roster.
“It’s incredible being here. There’s a lot of prospects that get great experience in American baseball,” Robert said.
Robert was invited to spring training in Arizona last February and quickly made an impression. He hit a grand slam even after suffering a thumb injury sliding into second base in a game in March.
The injury, and a re-injury, limited him to 50 minor-league games in 2018.
“It was hard and it took a while to feel good physically and mentally. I could only play a few games because the rehab took so long,” Robert said.
Robert has since adjusted his slide, going in legs-first instead of head-first to protect his hands. His play has left an impression on those who see him every day in Arizona.
“Incredible,” Desert Dogs teammates Thairo Estrada said. “He’s a player who has so much talent and yet he’s humble. He’s really observant. What I see from [Robert] right now is a great player.”
In Arizona, he is getting the field time and at-bats he didn’t get in the minors, and is excited to be part of the future of the White Sox.
“There’s a lot of good young players in the big leagues and others coming up, like [Eloy] Jiménez, [Seby] Zavala and [Luis Alexander] Basabe. They’re on their way so the future looks bright,” Robert said. “All players want to get to the big leagues. But when I’m on the field I just think about what I have to do and my work, and when it’s my time I will be in the majors.”
Cuban Comparisons
Robert didn’t follow much Cuban baseball growing up, though he started playing professionally in Cuba at age 15. He was a fan of the Mets, Dodgers and Red Sox.
He watched the World Series with interest, especially the play of countryman Yasiel Puig. Asked if he’d ever been compared to the Dodgers slugger, Robert said he hadn’t heard anyone do so.
But it’s hard not to draw parallels. The two are both right fielders of about the same height with muscular frames. They both are viewed as hitters for power and average. They both run well and have above-average throwing arms. Both also got big-money contracts to sign.
“There’s a lot of rawness there,” said Charles Poe, Robert’s hitting coach at Class A Winston-Salem earlier this year. “He just needs to have some games underneath him to get some at-bats, because he had injuries that held him back. But he’s fun to watch. There’s a lot of pop coming out of that bat. There’s a lot of good things that he does.”
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