Chicago White Sox news: Team signs Cuban prospect Luis Robert
The Chicago White Sox continue their impressive rebuild by signing Cuban prospect Luis Robert.
The Chicago White Sox never announced it publicly, but during the offseason they went into rebuild mode. They traded away Chris Sale and Adam Eaton and received impressive prospects in return.
This impressive haul of prospects continued on Saturday as they agreed to terms with Cuban outfielder Luis Robert. The deal is worth $25 million, pending a physical.
Robert is 19 years old and measures in at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds. He was much sought-after by a number of teams, but in the end, it reportedly came down to the White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. He needs to bulk up, but that is natural considering he is still a teenager.
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This is how Baseball America describes Robert:
"Robert has a strong but extremely lean, athletic frame, standing out for his physicality, athleticism, tools and track record of performance, both against his peers and older competition. He’s a righthanded hitter with a good set up, premium bat speed and a fairly sound, compact swing. When Robert connects, he drives the ball with high exit velocity and plus raw power."
Robert does have a tendency to swing at high fastballs. Also, he tries to pull too many pitches. Again, that comes with age. At 19, his plate discipline obviously isn’t the greatest. The more at-bats he gets, the better the discipline.
The Sox acquired another Cuban prospect, Yoan Moncada, in the Sale deal. Moncada is nearly ready to be called up after starting the season at Triple-A Charlotte. The team has a good history with Cuban players. Minnie Minoso, Jose Contreras, Alexei Ramirez and Jose Abreu are examples of successful Cuban players.
Robert likely starts in the outfield, probably center field. The Sox are thin in the outfield so having premium talent there helps in the rebuild.
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Once the Chicago White Sox decided to go with the rebuild, they hit it hard. They’ve made over the minor league system, and a few years down the road they may give the Cubs a challenge in the win column.