After being sidelined with a back injury, Luis Robert Jr. has begun to resurface with the New York Mets. Most recently, the veteran outfielder totaled four hits, including two home runs, against the Chicago White Sox, his former team.
“It feels good to hit homers against any team. I will say, it did feel good to hit the home run here because it’s a stadium that I played so many games in,” Robert said.
Slowly Resurfacing
At the tail end of the offseason, the Mets traded infielder Luisangel Acuña and prospect Truman Pauley to the White Sox for Robert to be their everyday center fielder. However, the plan only lasted a month because he was still dealing with a lingering back injury. As a result, he spent all of May and June on the sidelines and didn’t make his return until July 20.
During that time away, Luis Robert Jr. lost his spot in the outfield to rookie A.J. Ewing, who made an immediate impact upon being called up from Triple-A Syracuse. With his future in doubt, Robert began to find success again. He hit a homer during his second game back from the Injured List and went on to hit another two days later.
As August began, Robert began to receive more opportunities due to fellow outfielder Juan Soto being placed on the injured list with a quad strain. In his teammate’s absence, Robert totaled 11 hits and five RBI through the first 11 games of the month. He proceeded to record another five hits, as he has tallied 16 hits, five home runs and 10 RBI on a .291 average thus far.
Returning Home
For six seasons, Robert called Rate Field, the home ballpark of the White Sox, home. He was their home grown talent, spending the first six seasons of his career with the AL Central franchise. Across 577 appearances, he recorded 565 hits, 115 doubles, 102 home runs and 298 RBI on a .259 average. He also helped them reach the postseason in 2021, snapping a 16-year playoff drought.
However, Luis Robert was greeted with boos from the White Sox fans when he made his return. Still, that didn’t stop him from continuing a productive stretch. During that middle game, he went 2-for-5 at the plate with a two-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the seventh, which sealed the Mets 10–5 win. He capped this off with a single and two walks during the series finale.
“He’s having great at-bats. He’s put in a lot of work and he’s been grinding really hard. It’s fun to see somebody get some success that works that hard,” interim manager Andy Green said.
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