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It feels like Luis Robert Jr. and the New York Mets have been linked for months, with trade rumors swirling about the Chicago White Sox outfielder heading to the Big Apple at some point.
The trade finally happened. The young outfielder who was an All-Star in 2023 was dealt for two prospects, adding to a White Sox stockpile that’s intriguing. As for the Mets? They got their center fielder situation cleared up, and perhaps this means we know their left fielder situation now with the position vacated by the traded Brandon Nimmo (does this mean prospect Carson Benge will start? Will Brett Baty play a lot?).
As usual, we’re handing out some trade grades for each side of this one, along with the details. Let’s dive in:
Mets and White Sox trade details
Mets get: OF Luis Robert Jr.
White Sox get: 2B Luisangel Acuna and RHP Truman Pauley
Mets trade grade
This is fairly straightforward: The Mets needed an upgrade in centerfield and have a glut of infielders. Acuna — the younger brother of Ronald Acuna — proved to be a good bench infielder with speed and defense. Even if a breakout year is in his future, the Mets didn’t need him.
Robert is a change-of-scenery project. He hit 38 dingers in 2023, but hit a total of 28 in his past two seasons. It was way past time for him to be dealt, with the Mets hoping they can get him back to the player he was that year. It didn’t cost them much even though taking on Robert’s $20 million contract this season is part of the deal. Owner Steve Cohen can afford it! GRADE: A-
White Sox trade grade
The mission here is to continue to add on to the prospects and to shed any unnecessary salary. Done and done. Robert needed to change zip codes, and Acuna is intriguing in a variety of ways, including the fact that he’s been raking in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League as he’s played this winter.
Pauley is a pitcher who was a 12th-round pick, so we’ll see if he pans out. The other big win here is getting the Mets to pay for Robert’s entire salary. I’m not sure how much more the White Sox could have gotten given how much he has left on his deal. Good job all around. GRADE: A-