Last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates made one of their first additions of the offseason, claiming outfielder Will Robertson off waivers from the Chicago White Sox. INF/OF Ryan Kriedler was designated for
assignment to make room for Robertson on the 40-man roster.
Robertson was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 4th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, and made his major league debut with the team in 2025 in his age 27 season, but only played in three games after being called up in mid-June, getting his first major league hit in 12 at-bats.
A few weeks later, after being optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo, the Blue Jays designated Robertson for assignment and then traded him to the Chicago White Sox.
Robertson got an opportunity with Chicago, playing in 24 games and recording only eight hits, for an abysmal .133 average. On a positive note, Robertson has shown throughout his career that he can be a plus defender, having played in all three outfield spots. He showed off his impressive catch radius by giving the White Sox one of their best defensive plays of the season, robbing Spencer Torkelson of a home run in left field at Detroit.
While Robertson did struggle mightily at the plate in his first stint in the big leagues, he earned his opportunity by showing improvement at the AAA level in 2025. Throughout his minor league career, he has demonstrated the ability to slug, but has typically failed to reach a .250 average. Between Triple-A Buffalo and Charlotte in 2025, he hit .289 to go along with a .958 OPS and 20 home runs in 89 games.
Robertson will have to continue to work on cutting down his strikeout rate and contact skills to become an all-around good hitter, and the slug he showed in the minor leagues will have to show up at the big league level if he wants to make and stay on a 26-man roster in the future.
