White Sox slugger suffered apparent injury during Home Run Derby

Jun 15, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) gestures after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Luis Robert put on a show during Monday night’s Home Run Derby, but it appears to have come at a cost.

The Chicago White Sox announced on Tuesday that Robert is sitting out of the MLB All-Star Game for precautionary reasons. He felt tightness in his right calf while participating in the Derby the night before and underwent an MRI in Seattle. The team adds that Robert is being listed as day-to-day and will be re-evaluated again before the season resumes on Friday.

Robert won a thrilling showdown in the first round of the event against Baltimore Orioles phenom Adley Rutschman. He hit 28 home runs after Rutschman hit 27. Robert also had the six longest dingers of the entire competition (though he lost in the second round to Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena).

The 6 longest homers of the #HRDerby belong to Luis Robert Jr. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EHU656DvSD

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 11, 2023

The White Sox note that Robert felt the tightness during the first round of the Derby. The event is no longer based on a fixed number of outs per round as it was in the past and is now based on a countdown timer (which figures to increase the risk of injury as players exert themselves to beat the clock).

Robert, 25, is having a fine season for Chicago with 26 homers and 51 RBIs. But he has had trouble staying healthy in the past. Now the White Sox (who have had a very lousy go of things this year) can only hope that Robert avoided a serious injury from participating in an entertainment event.