White Sox Sign Luis Robert To Long Term Deal
In their continued pursuit of turning the tides, the Chicago White Sox inked top prospect, Luis Robert, to a long term deal. The speculated MLB union amounts to six years with two club year options for $50 million. That could turn into $88 million when the full contract is exercised.
That mark officially breaks the record for the largest contract for a player with zero MLB service time under their belts. The contract is extremely backloaded and begins with providing Robert just $1.5 million in 2020. It then gradually increases from $3.5 million in 2021 to $9.5 million in 2022 and all the way to $15 million in 2025. As noted by Jeff Passan of ESPN, the two club options that could keep him in Chicago until 2027 are $20 million each. There is a $2 million buyout for either year. The deal doesn’t guarantee a spot on the starting roster but for now, Robert is slated to begin the year with the White Sox.
The Allure of Robert
The deal brings about an event that baseball hasn’t witnessed too often in the past. A contract of considerable size given to a player who hasn’t played in the major leagues yet. In the end, it’s actually quite easy to see why the deal was made so quickly. It has to deal with an organization starved of recent success.
Across the Class-A, Double-A, and Triple-A ranks last season, Robert had a 2019 campaign out of this world. Robert blasted a career-high 32 home-runs with a career-best 92 RBI. He also swiped 36 bases across the three levels of play while posting a .328 average. That included 16 home runs and 39 RBI across the Triple-A level alone.
The Pursuit of Dominance
The deal by Robert continued to show the dedication to win by the White Sox. Dedication to bringing the team back to a competitive nature. Robert’s signing comes after the team inked stars like Edwin Encarnacion, Yasmani Grandal, and pitching stars Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Keuchel. That comes after the south siders brought back Jose Abreu and traded for Nomar Mazara from the Rangers.
Former Oregon State product Nick Madrigal might also see MLB time. All that combined could mean a very dangerous White Sox team. However, what we see now from Chicago could be a playoff contender. A significant part of that comes from the signing of Luis Robert.
