Luis Robert Jr. expressed a desire to remain with the Chicago White Sox on several occasions.
The most recent public declaration occurred during a session with reporters in late August at Rate Field.
“Definitely I would like to stay here,” the center fielder said through an interpreter on Aug. 29. “I want to be part of this team going forward into the future.”
Robert found out his immediate future on Tuesday when the Sox exercised his $20 million club option for 2026.
While Robert remains, the Sox announced pitcher Martín Pérez declined the $10 million mutual option for 2026. The left-hander receives a $1.5 million buyout.
The Sox were also active in building a new-look coaching staff, naming Zach Bove their pitching coach on Tuesday. Bove, 37, spent the last three seasons as the assistant pitching coach with the Kansas City Royals.
Zach Bove with the Kansas City Royals in 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
“As I got through this process, you see the people with the White Sox — Getzy (general manager Chris Getz), Banny (senior adviser to pitching Brian Bannister), hearing (manager) Will (Venable’s) vision — that really aligned with how I view pitching and development,” Bove said during a video conference call on Tuesday.
“And then you look at the roster, playing these guys in the division, their growth from last year to the beginning of this year to the end of the year, there’s definitely things to work with. Super exciting to partner with these guys and get them better.”
Bove follows Ethan Katz, who was the pitching coach for the Sox from 2021-25.
Additionally, Matt Wise will return for his third season as the team’s bullpen coach.
Robert remains with the club after a 2025 season filled with ups, downs and several rounds of trade speculation. He slashed .223/.297/.364 with 14 home runs, 53 RBIs, 52 runs and 33 stolen bases in 110 games. The year came to an early end when he suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain on Aug. 26 against the Royals.
Robert, 28, has a career .259/.313/.455 slash line with 102 home runs, 298 RBIs, 318 runs and 102 stolen bases in 577 games over six major-league seasons with the Sox. In January 2020, Robert and the Sox agreed to a six-year, $50 million deal which included $20 million club options for 2026 and 2027, along with $2 million buyouts for either season.
During 2025, he joined Minnie Miñoso, Ray Durham and Alexei Ramírez as the only players in Sox history to record 100 career home runs and 100 career stolen bases.
All the while, Robert has provided valuable defense by displaying considerable range in center field.
But he’s been slowed at times by injuries. Robert has played at least 100 games in three of the five possible seasons (there were only 60 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season), with the 110 in 2025 the second-most in his career.
“The key for Luis Robert has been not only just being productive, but being on the field,” Getz said during Tuesday’s video conference call. “The adjustments he made going into the second half (of 2025, slashing .298/.352/.456 in 31 games after the All-Star break), that gave us confidence that this is someone we want to have in our lineup on a regular basis. We just need to find a way to get a productive six months of the season, and a lot of that is keeping him on the field.”
Chicago White Sox pitcher Martín Pérez pitches during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Rate Field on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Injuries also impacted Pérez’s 2025 season. The Sox signed the veteran to a one-year deal with a mutual option in January.
He went 1-6 with a 3.54 ERA and 44 strikeouts over 11 appearances (10 starts).
Pérez was on the injured list from April 19 to Aug. 12 with left elbow inflammation. Even though he was on the IL, Pérez found a way to impact the team by offering advice to the pitching staff. His season ended early after suffering a left shoulder strain on Sept. 17.
Bove joins the Sox after helping the Royals finish sixth in the majors with a 3.73 ERA in 2025. They allowed the eighth-fewest home runs (171) in the big leagues.
“Zach stood out from the beginning as somebody that just had a skill set that was going to be impactful in every regard,” Venable said during Tuesday’s video conference call. “As you lined up some of his strengths with some of our needs and how that matched up with our pitching staff and how we want to develop this group and take the next step, there was no question that he was the right person.”
He was in the Minnesota Twins organization from 2019-22, serving as the pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Twins in 2019, a special projects coordinator in 2020 and the minor-league assistant pitching coordinator from 2021-22.
Bove spent seven years at College of Central Florida as the hitting coach in 2012-13 and the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator from 2014-18.
“We just feel like he’s a great fit,” Getz said. “He represents the pillars that we have prioritized here with the White Sox organization as we’re looking to find improvements.”