With the close of the 2025 season, several unknowns began to be cleared up regarding the future of Cuban players in the Major Leagues (MLB, for its acronym in English), among them that of the possible arrival of Luis Rober Jr. to his free agency.
That opportunity was postponed this Tuesday with the confirmation that the Chicago White Sox exercised the option in the player’s contract that allows them to keep him on their payroll for one more season in exchange for 20 million dollars.
In his report on this movement, journalist Francys Romero indicates that the franchise from the south of the city could have been inclined to permanently sever ties with the Avilanian outfielder, to whom they would have to pay an exit clause of 2 million dollars.
The White Sox are immersed in a rebuilding process that has led them to get rid of several figures of some importance.
However, they have preferred to keep Luis Robert Jr. despite not having had his best numbers last season, in which he was also dogged by injuries.
According to the official statisticsthe 27-year-old Cuban participated in 110 games for his team during the regular season, in which he had an offensive average of .223.
In that period he hit 26 extra bases, including 14 full return hits, equaling the figure from the previous year, but far from the 38 homers he recorded in 2023, his best season so far.
Robert Jr. landed in the MLB with the White Sox in 2020, and has since compiled a .259 batting average. In his historical record he has 102 home runs and an OBP of .313.
Gurriel Jr. opted for Arizona
Another of the Cuban players who recently clarified his destiny in the MLB was Lourdes Gurriel Jr., by exercising his player option for one more year with the Arizona Rattlers in exchange for a salary of 13 million dollars.
The 32-year-old outfielder is going through a difficult time that narrowed his options in the face of free agency, as he would not be able to return to the diamond until the middle of next year as he recovers from a serious injury.
At the beginning of last September, Gurriel Jr. saw his season “turn off” for him, as a result of a collision with his teammate Blaze Alexander that seriously affected his right knee.
For this reason he had to undergo surgery, from which his recovery period has recently begun.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is seriously injured and will miss the rest of the MLB season
The mishap occurred when the youngest of the Gurriel brothers had completed the best month of his season, with seven home runs and 11 extra-base hits, in addition to 32 RBIs.
In that way, their season statistics They were marked by their offensive average of .248, with 19 homers and 80 RBIs.
