Luis Robert not among the White Sox’ September roster moves

CLEVELAND — The White Sox called up four players from Class AAA Charlotte on Tuesday, and, as expected, Luis Robert was not one of them.

They purchased the contract of infielder Danny Mendick and recalled catcher Zack Collins, right-hander Dylan Covey and outfielder Daniel Palka. Right-hander Jose Ruiz will be added Wednesday, general manager Rick Hahn said.

Collins, at designated hitter, and Palka, in right field, were in the starting lineup for the Sox’ game against the Indians.

Robert, a fast five-tool center fielder who batted .328/.376/.624 with 32 home runs, 31 doubles, 11 triples, 92 RBI and 36 stolen bases between Class A Winston-Salem, Class AA Birmingham and Charlotte, would have looked good in a Sox outfield that flanked center fielder Leury Garcia with the defensively challenged Eloy Jimenez and Palka.

And Robert would have created a much bigger buzz for a 60-77 team entering Tuesday badly in need of a jolt. The Sox were reeling from a seven-game losing streak, their second of the second half.

But Hahn, citing Robert’s stops at three levels of the minor leagues at 21 and 22 and flatly saying there are no service-time considerations in making Robert wait, said the time is now for their No. 1 prospect to call it a season.

“Instead of adding a fourth level in a single year and increasing his career high in games, as much fun as it would have been to see him in Chicago, sometimes it’s our job to say, ‘Enough, this has been a very successful season,’ ” Hahn said. “It’s time to go home, shut it down, rest, recover and come back next season ready for even greater challenges.”

Hampered by ankle, knee and thumb injuries after the Sox signed him out of Cuba to a $26 million bonus in 2017, Robert played a career-high 122 games.

“Obviously, [Robert] had an outstanding season,” Hahn said. “He surpassed our development goals for 2019. It was about getting Luis a full season of being healthy and having him perform well at an advanced level considering his age. He surpassed both of those.”

Collins, 24, is back with what the Sox hope is a more aggressive approach at the plate after he went 2-for-26 with a home run from June 18 to July 15. The No. 10 overall pick in 2016, he spent most of the season at Charlotte, hitting .282/.403/.548 with 19 homers in 88 games. Collins’ defense remains a question mark behind the plate and at first base. Manager Rick Renteria said he would catch three or four games and perhaps get a start at first.

“I went back and made some adjustments and look forward to performing here now,” said Collins, who tripled off the wall in the eighth inning, going 1-for-3 with a walk. “The biggest thing is putting more hard balls in play, not striking out nearly as much anymore. The power numbers are still there, and putting the barrel on the ball more is really the main goal.”

Renteria said Mendick, 25, might “get a start here and there” at any of three infield spots. Mendick batted .279/.368/.444 with 17 homers, 26 doubles, 64 RBI and 66 walks in 133 games with Charlotte. He came in as a pinch runner against Cleveland.

Covey, 28, will probably take Ross Detwiler’s spot in the rotation. He is 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 13 games (11 starts) with Charlotte in 2019, but 1-7 with a 6.88 ERA in 16 games (10 starts) with the Sox.

Palka, 27, led the Sox in homers as a rookie with 27 last season but went 1-for-35 to open the season. He was sent down and returned in late June, only to go hitless in four games. He was 1-for-45 with the Sox but hit .263/.374/.527 with 27 homers and 72 RBI in 106 games with the Knights in 2019.

“When I was in the lineup today, I was so pumped up,” Palka said. “I’m ready to be here and to contribute.”

Palka went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

The Sox’ active roster is at 31, including 16 pitchers.