At FanGraphs about a fortnight ago, Dan Szymborski released his list of 2021’s most irreplaceable players, based on the difference in postseason probabilities for teams with and without their specific stars. Mike Trout headed the list, which, of course. Gerrit Cole was second, and Ronald Acuña Jr. third, and they make sense. Alex Bregman fourth? Yup. Jacob deGrom fifth? Sure.
Two spots after the MVP and Cy Young favorites, Luis Robert appears. With a healthy Robert, the White Sox have a 69.2 percent chance of making the postseason. Without him, that number drops down to 46 percent. Only the aforementioned five players and Carlos Correa could cost the teams more by not being around.
Well, the exercise is no longer theoretical for the White Sox. Rick Hahn announced this evening that Robert has a Grade 3 strain of his right hip flexor, which is another phrase for a complete tear. He will not resume baseball activities for 12 to 16 weeks, regardless of whether he undergoes surgery or merely rests it.
Robert suffered the tear during the first inning of Sunday’s game while legging out an otherwise ordinary infield single to the left side. He started the year by hitting .316/.359/.463, showing a combination of better plate coverage and pitch recognition that made him somebody worth depending on.
I suppose that makes Tony La Russa technically correct when he said it’s a less severe injury than the one Eloy Jiménez suffered, but a three-to-four-month absence basically takes them both off the roster for the same amount of time from here, since Jiménez was injured a month earlier. And that assumes that either would have a smooth rehab, which is why Hahn wouldn’t say one way or another whether Robert could return this year.
Speaking of smooth rehabs, that’s exactly what Adam Engel isn’t having. Hahn said that Engel suffered a setback during his initial attempt to come back from a hamstring strain, and is probably three weeks away from being able to return to the field.
That means center field will be a mishmash of Leury García, Billy Hamilton, Adam Eaton, and whoever else the White Sox might be able to acquire. I’m guessing La Russa will start with the first two, because he hasn’t minded playing García and/or Hamilton even when there were better options. Now there are none.
(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)
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May 04, 2021 at 07:00AM
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White Sox lose Luis Robert for 12-16 weeks with hip flexor tear - Sox Machine
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