Philadelphia Phillies reliever Tanner Banks shared a clubhouse with Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. as Chicago teammates for parts of three seasons.
With Robert surging entering Tuesday night’s game between visiting Philadelphia and Chicago and rumored to be on the trading block, might a reunion be in the works?
Philadelphia was listed in a Monday report from The Athletic as one of three potential destinations should the White Sox trade Robert. Banks said the Phillies could benefit from the 27-year-old.
“He’s got a sneaky arm, very fast, power, the ability to hit for average,” Banks told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s the complete package. He’s young. He’s very toolsy. He’s not a guy I like to face. Even if he’s having a down year, I don’t like to face him.
“It’ll be interesting to see where he lands.”
While Robert has navigated durability issues for much of his six-season career, he has starred in July, batting .318 (14-for-44) with three home runs and 11 RBIs. He will turn 28 on Sunday.
Robert delivered a go-ahead, two-run home run in the fourth inning Monday to help lift the White Sox to a 6-2 victory in the opener of the three-game interleague series. While Banks is not Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly, he suggested a change of scenery might offer Robert a boost.
“Across the board in baseball, sometimes that’s what it takes,” Banks said. “Just a breath of fresh air.”
While the trade deadline looms on Thursday, Robert still is batting just .205 this year with the only major league organization he has known. Monday’s homer against Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez gave him hits in 10 of his past 11 games, and he has 11 home runs and 43 RBIs for the season.
He also contributed a diving catch of a J.T. Realmuto line drive in the fourth inning, showing increasing comfort after missing games Friday and Saturday against the Chicago Cubs with adductor soreness.
“I thought that the ball was a lot farther,” Robert said through a translator, “but at the end I realized that I was closer. I think I could have got the ball without diving, but I just did it anyways.”
Chicago is 7-3 since the All-Star break and benefiting from strong efforts from a core of rookies in addition to Robert.
Rookie third baseman Colson Montgomery went 2-for-4 with three RBIs Monday, including a tying two-run blast in the third inning. Montgomery has homered in four of his past six games.
The White Sox will aim to secure their third series victory since the All-Star break behind right-hander Jonathan Cannon (4-7, 4.48 ERA), who is set to face Philadelphia for the first time. Cannon is 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA in four June starts covering 21 2/3 innings. He is coming off a no-decision on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays last Wednesday, when he yielded six runs (five earned) and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts in his team’s 11-9 win.
Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (8-5, 4.58) will get the call Tuesday for the Phillies in his first career appearance against the White Sox.
Luzardo also struggled in a no-decision Wednesday, allowing two runs and six hits in five innings in a 9-8 loss to the Boston Red Sox while walking five and striking out seven. He is 1-1 with a 7.23 ERA in four June starts.
–Field Level Media
