Luis

Robert Jr.

The dynamic 28-year-old outfielder isn’t dealing with an injury, but the Mets want him to work on strengthening his lower half given his extensive injury history. No word yet on when he’ll make his spring debut for the Mets, but he still has plenty of time to get ready for the start of the regular season.

Robert has been largely ineffective the last two years and has quite the injury history, but he’s 28, he’s a legit center fielder and he has a career 111 OPS+. This is definitely worth a shot for the Mets, who will be responsible for paying $22 million for one year or $40 million for two. They’ll presumably handle him better than a White Sox organization that mostly expected position players to play through injury. Tyrone Taylor had topped the Mets’ depth chart in center, but now he’ll serve as the fourth outfielder he’s meant to be. He’ll presumably be on the short side of a platoon with Brett Baty in left initially, assuming the Carson Benge now starts off in Triple-A. With Acuña, who was out of options, departing, Ronny Mauricio seems poised for a utility role.

The Mets will take on Robert’s $20 million salary for 2026 and his $2 million buyout of his 2027 club option, also worth $20 million. In return, they’re getting a center fielder with plenty of upside, but one who has a .660 OPS while spending about one-third of the last two seasons on the IL. We’d still do this all day long if we were the Mets. Acuña is out of options and seems more like a very good utilityman than a solid regular. Pauley was the Mets’ 12th-round pick last year. That the White Sox would invest in Munetaka Murakami only to cheap out like this is a prime reason things need to change there.

That’s potentially doable for the right return. Still, the White Sox don’t necessarily need to eat salary in order to move the 28-year-old Robert. It’d probably help a deal come together if the White Sox happened to have any interest in taking back Gavin Lux’s salary, which should be around $5 million.

This might be one of Nightengale’s exaggerations, but Robert, who will earn $20 million next season, has already been linked to both teams and the Padres as well. The White Sox certainly don’t need to trade him; even after signing Munetaka Murakami, their payroll is still just right around $80 million, and they will have another club option that they could use to keep him around in 2027. Robert, Murakami, Andrew Benintendi and Anthony Kay are their only players making more than $1 million.

Robert has been the subject of trade speculation over the last few years, but it appears this winter we might see the White Sox actually pull the trigger. The Mets would make sense, but Heyman notes that in order for New York to give up their top prospects, the White Sox would need to send some cash back. That’s not a very Jerry Reinsdorf thing to do. The Padres have also been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Robert, among others.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported earlier in the offseason that he believes it’s “finally time” for Robert to be traded, so we’re going to see a few teams being linked to him. What makes this report interesting is that there doesn’t seem to be a place for Robert in San Diego with Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Ramon Laureano as the starting outfield. However, there have also been trade rumors surrounding Tatis as the Padres look to shed salary and add young, controllable starting pitchers. Perhaps there could be a few levers being pulled here.

The White Sox held on to him after his excellent 2023, hoping to cash in at the deadline in 2024, but were never able to due to injuries. They now picked up Robert’s $20 million team option and have another $20 million option for 2027. He still has elite raw ability, but has been inconsistent and injured over the last few years, which “would limit the return on any potential deal.” Still, Passan believes now is the time for a deal and lists the Mets, Phillies, and Reds as possible landing spots.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz telegraphed the move during the second half of this past season when he declined to move Robert at the trade deadline. The 28-year-old center fielder has struggled to return to form after career-best 38-homer, 20-steal campaign back in 2023 where he was one of the most impactful power/speed combo threats in the fantasy landscape. He’ll enter his age-28 campaign as a likely trade candidate once again if the two sides are unable to work out a long-term extension.

With just over one month left in the season, there simply isn’t a ton of time for Robert to rest and recover from a pretty significant hamstring strain and still make it back to Chicago. Getz reiterated the front office’s commitment to the 28-year-old outfielder, seeming to confirm that they’re picking up his $20 million club option for 2026.