Luisangel

Acuña

Acuña struggled to gain any traction with the Mets last year but a change of scenery with the rebuilding White Sox could do wonders for his career. The 23-year-old speedster isn’t known for his over-the-fence pop with just three homers in 109 games at the highest level in his career, but he took big-league reliever Spencer Bivens deep in the fifth inning of this one. He also notched a run-scoring single earlier in the contest. He’s likely to open the season in a reserve role but Chase Meidroth, Miguel Vargas and Edgar Quero appear to be his only obstacles to regular at-bats. His speed could be impactful in deeper mixed leagues and AL-only formats if everything breaks in his favor.

Acuña was removed from Wednesday’s game against the Reds with a facial laceration. The 23-year-old was held out a little under a week, but as expected, he’s good to go with plenty of time to get prepared for his regular season.

Acuña suffered a cut above his left eyebrow and will undergo further evaluation to determine whether he’ll require stitches. He was 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and his first steal of the spring before departing. The 23-year-old infielder, who came over from the Mets in the Luis Robert Jr. trade last month, is presumably day-to-day for the moment. He’s competing for a spot on Chicago’s bench this spring.

Sam Phalen has compiled the visual evidence. This should truly be something of a “yikes” moment for White Sox fans, as there hasn’t been any actual indication that the team wants Acuña to become a switch-hitter. Acuña was the primary return for Robert, though the second player acquired, right-hander Thomas Pauley, is interesting, too. If Getz was this unfamiliar with Acuña’s game prior to the trade, then he’s not someone who should be leading a front office. Acuña is expected to get every chance to win the starting job in center this spring. Still, because of his lack of power, he might be just a utilityman in the long run.

This doesn’t seem like a sufficient return, but the White Sox obviously didn’t want to pay Robert $20 million this year. Acuña sort of held his own as a 23-year-old in the majors last season, hitting .234/.293/.274 in 193 plate appearances. He’s intriguing defensively at several key positions, he runs very well, he has decent plate discipline and he’s not entirely absent of power. It seems like a utility profile, but given that he’s just turning 24 in March, there’s some hope for him as a regular, perhaps in center field. He’ll probably battle Derek Hill, Tristan Peters and Everson Pereira for that spot in spring training. Pauley, a 2025 12th-rounder out of Harvard, allowed one run in four innings in his pro debut last season.

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.

New York’s infield mix got a bit more crowded when they acquired veteran second baseman Marcus Semien in a trade with the Rangers last month. Baty split time across several spots last year, making 87 appearances at the hot corner and 57 at the keystone. It sounds like he’ll get the nod over other in-house alternatives like Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña at third base heading into camp after hitting .291 with nine homers and 30 RBI in 55 games after the All-Star break to close last season.

Baty will undergo additional imaging this weekend to determine the severity of a possible oblique issue that cropped up during Friday’s game against the Marlins. Even a mild strain would likely require a couple weeks to rest and fully recover. The 25-year-old’s absence would likely result in more prominent roles for Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña during the postseason, should New York make it.

Acuña, the NL Rookie of the Month way back in April, has hit .239/.295/.283 in 175 plate appearances for the Mets this season. He’ll likely serve mostly as a defensive replacement at second, though he could start occasionally against lefties.

Acuña was shipped to the minors earlier this month, but he’ll return to New York’s bench as a pinch-running specialist for Sunday’s special matchup at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.