White Sox prospect Luis Robert out 10 weeks with sprained thumb

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Make it stop, Hermie. Make it stop.

That might be the cry this spring training from White Sox general manager Rick Hahn to trainer Herm Schneider, whose table has been overused by the top end of the Sox’ prospect stable Hahn has been building.

‘‘Herm’s number is showing up way too much on my caller ID for late February and March,’’ Hahn said Saturday.

The Sox’ run of bad injury luck took another sour turn when the team announced prized Cuban outfielder Luis Robert, the 28th-ranked prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, has a sprained ligament in his left thumb and likely won’t play till May.

The injury is a moderate sprain, and Robert’s hand will be in a cast for about six weeks. He’s expected to return to game action in about 10 weeks.

Robert — like all of the other Sox prospects who have been hurt this spring — wasn’t going to start the season with the major-league team, anyway. Some might not be ready until next opening day, but they’re all missing needed development time.

Robert, 20, who injured the thumb making a feetfirst slide Wednesday, has impressed during his first three weeks of competition in the United States.

Hahn — who jokingly told media members, ‘‘We have to stop meeting like this,’’ while discussing Robert’s plight — already has talked about injuries more than he has cared to in a spring in which his prospects were supposed to take center stage.

To wit:

• Third baseman Jake Burger, the Sox’ 2017 first-round draft pick, ruptured his left Achilles tendon Feb. 26 and is out for the season.

• Micker Adolfo, who has the top-rated outfield arm in the organization by Baseball America, suffered a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. On the plus side, Adolfo is serving as a designated hitter and expects to continue hitting during his minor-league season.

• Right-hander Alec Hansen pitched in one game before feeling soreness in his right forearm.

Injuries are nothing new for Robert. He suffered a meniscus injury and rolled his ankle in a collision at home plate while playing in the Dominican Summer League after the Sox signed him to a $26 million bonus in May.

On the slide Wednesday, Robert said his hand made contact with the cleat of a Reds infielder covering the base.

‘‘I didn’t put my hand in the right way,’’ he said through a translator.

Hahn called Robert’s string of injuries ‘‘fluky.’’ Robert also was taken out of a ‘‘B’’ game last week when he was struck on the helmet by the glove of Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. That also occurred as he was finishing a slide into second.

‘‘Hopefully, we’re getting the bad luck out of the way early here in the career,’’ Hahn said.

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Email: dvanschouwen@suntimes.com

Luis Robert Saturday morning: