[Passan] BREAKING: The New York Mets in agreement on a trade to acquire center fielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox, sources tell ESPN. White Sox will receive IF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley
Mets immediately cashing in on his 4 HR game in winter league lol
Wonder if that takes them out of the Bellinger sweepstakes
Unless the Mets want Bellinger at 1B then yes because they’ll want room for Benge to move up and play LF this year.
Why would they want him for 1B, he has played it before in the majors
Never seen a comment go from -5 to 8 so quickly.
Has to wait a minute for ball knowers to show up
art is rarely appreciated in its era
It’s easy, tell ‘em Wash
You really dong deserve the downvotes for this awesome comment
So good
I think they’re still in. Robert isn’t the guy you lock Benge out for. He’s competition for Benge. There’s no guarantee we’ll get a healthy Robert or a good Robert. We can sit on Benge another year, preserve his prime years, take our time developing him. I’ve been saying all along that would be my perfect OF post Nimmo-trade, sign Belli and trade for Robert. Benge and Taylor are 4th and 5th OFers splitting time between LF/CF and the hot hand gets extra games at LF when Belli plays 1B.
Not to mention the inevitable injuries that will open up opportunities
The flexibility to sit on Benge is a huge plus here. I’m not sure we end up with Bellinger, but in the event we do, the “choose 2/3” problem of Benge Bellinger and Robert at best doesn’t exist because Benge isn’t ready yet, or at worst is a great problem to have.
Don’t think I agree. Bellinger can play 1st base as well. Polanco could then move to DH. Stearns is about flexibility. Injuries happen.
It might not. Robert, Polanco, Bichette are kind of an injury prone roster. Also, can’t just leave LF to a prospect. Bellinger would create a lot of depth and flexibility to the roster - something Stearns is a huge fan of. But for his price it might not be worth it.
Is there anywhere to see winter league stats for players?
Bref has them if you toggle on Show Foreign
Talk about the White Sox waiting too long until his value was at its lowest to trade him.
Sadly it just never materialized for Getz. He got hired right after the trade deadline in 2023, Roberts career year. In hindsight its easy to say he shouldve traded him that off-season, but I dont think anyone expected his numbers to completely fall off a cliff like they did, plus hes never healthy. He gambled that he would be continue to be a good hitter and try and get a haul from a desperate team at the deadline but it didnt work out for him. Ill take a flashy name and lottery ticket arm at this point.
Yeah plus trading him with 4 years of control remaining would have been wildly unpopular
I don’t think anyone could’ve actually afforded what peak Luis Robert with 4 years of control was actually worth. You almost needed to wait a couple years for the price to come down into the realm of possibility. Unfortunately, he fell from that peak pretty hard
Would probably have had to give up something similar to what San Diego gave up for Soto
No he’s not. But Robert was also a former #1 overall prospect, coming off a year where he posted 5.3 WAR, and had more years of team control than Soto. That would’ve definitely would’ve boosted his trade value at the time.
Yeah Robert has gone through a strange process where he was at first too valuable to trade without getting a big offer and yet not really good enough to clearly justify that big offer and then he fell off and became worth too little to justify trading, because he could always bounce back and get more value
I think at this point the white Sox just wanted off of Robert’s money and figured they’d take what they can get
Hard to imagine they couldnt beat this at the deadline
Teams probably called their bluff. Word was they wanted Tong at the deadline, which I doubt was isolated to just the Mets.
God Chris Getz was the first prospect I remember as a royals fan. I always forget he’s a GM.
Anyone thinking he should’ve been traded then are purely speaking with the knowledge they have now. Lubob was a stud that I honestly thought was going to be what they built around and it sucks it didn’t pan out.
He should’ve been traded in 2024. It was obvious then that he wasn’t gonna be the stud building block for their rebuild but he still had good trade value.
Sell low like my portfolio 🫡
As a warriors fan, this is 100% what’s happening with Jonathan Kuminga.
I do this trade all day if Im the Mets. Acuna hasnt done anything and he is so far down the depth chart at this point with Bo
Capitalized on a hot Venezuela league run and get a toolsy player at a position of need
Yeah, I hate this which means the Mets did well.
Robert jr for Acuña?! Their stubborn wait game finally paid off!
We went from Vientos for Robert to Acuna for Robert. Chef Stearns does it again
They asked for Tong at the deadline
I’ll take not seeing Acuña on the back of a Mets jersey all day
Pretty sure he is also out of options so he was stuck and clogging up the roster without a role
I was speculating he was getting traded for that reason alone months ago so not really a surprise as he doesn’t fit the roster
Yeah after the Semien signing I think any Mets fans with a brain saw this one coming. I was just worried we’d have to give up Vientos, Baty, or Mauricio as well. They may still be on the bloc but getting this much return just for Acuña is awesome.
But without Acuna who will be our backup catcher!?
You already know the answer to that
Brett “Jeff McNeil” Baty
trade away Jeff McNeil just to realize that what you really wanted was a team full of Jeff McNeils 😔😔😔 rip my squirrely king
Get ready to learn super utilityman Baty
Brett has spent the whole off season practicing grounding out then screaming obscenities as he walks back to the dugout. He has big shoes to fill.
LOL he has a lot of catching up to do but the FO believes he has room to grow a colorful vocabulary
This would instantly make Baty my new favorite player.
He had the 4HR game but I think Acuna is hitting around .200 in the Venezuelan winter league
You’re also taking away a guy the Phillies probably really wanted
If we wanted him we would have done it by now. We have a couple enticing prospects. I think part of it is that Dave believes in our guys coming up and making an impact and the other part is that he thinks Robert just isn’t going to be the guy he seemed to be a couple years ago
Yea I like this move for the Mets. CF market is thin, too
Yeah there was no way Acuña was moving up the depth chart at this point with this roster. Wish him the best. I love this deal.
Finally, after YEARS of speculation, Luis was finally traded
Finally, after YEARS of speculation, Luisangel was finally traded
finally traded… after he had already been traded only 2 and a half years ago
he is now free
Thank god it’s finally over, I couldn’t do another trade deadline of hearing about Robert getting dealt
same lol
Just wait till July lol
Watch, he’s the lone bright spot in another disappointing summer for the Mets, so it turns into another Robert trade rumor deadline.
Someone who was never going to play for us and a 12th round pick from the latest draft.
Very nice assuming Robert doesn’t bat .220 again.
Very possible Robert and Acuna both bat .220
Which is an improvement over Tyrone lmao
Taylor hit 223 last year
So did Robert. Lu Bob’s 223 was a lot more productive than Tyrone
1.4 WAR vs. 1.0 WAR with 100 more PA and 50 more innings in the field. Roberts obviously had the edge with hitting but Taylor’s glove was good enough to keep their overall values pretty much on par with each other last year
I mean very possible Robert never plays for you guys either. Dude is made of glass.
He’s with Eloy now
They’re with Wade Boggs now
Rest in peace
again…
Is that a farm upstate where he can run and play?
He hasn’t been good or healthy in a while.
He had an 84 wRC+ in 2024 in 100 GP and then had an 84 wRC+ again in 2025 in 110 GP.
Given the price to acquire wasn’t all that much a calculated risk in hopes of a bounce back.
Hes still a great defender, its a good move for the Mets if hes batting in the back half of the order
The underlying stats showed signs of life last year. .289 wOBA vs .322 xwOBA and .274 BABIP vs a career .319 BABIP. Still has elite bat speed.
Came here to say this. His batted balls stats suggest bad luck in 2025.
87th percentile in fielding run value is also nice.
Why wouldn’t you assume? He batted .220 in ‘24 and just can’t stay healthy
Incoming career year
He is made of glass, but I think getting out of south side malaise might help
He’s definitely going to
Luisangel was my irrational hope prospect but yeah I totally get it
I hold him in the same spot as Dilson Herrera back in the day
where my Gavin Cecchini heads at
I thought Gavin Cecchini was the next Brian Dozier.
Fully agreed haha
I have nothing to add except for I won a few World Series on MLB the show with acuna so I figured he would pan out
Dude was a .300 hitter for me lol
His brief hot streak when Lindor was hurt in September 2024 probably saved their playoff chase too.
It’s incredible that the team giving up in 2023 leading to max scherzer demanding a trade led to an nlcs appearance and Luis Robert
It’s okay, I’m still waiting on Vic Black to really show what he can do.
I know the Braves and Mets don’t do business but I wanted him at short. +10 baseball skills for both brothers playing together
Expected much worse, means we probably took on the contract. Sweet
He’s been in trade rumors for years yet this is all it took?
He’s gotten progressively worse and he’s paid $20mill this year.
Exactly this. His last 2 seasons made less & less teams interested.
Back to back years with an 84 wRC+ while missing 50+ games both years
He’s been in trade rumors forever because his stock kept getting lower and lower and the White Sox kept waiting for him the bounce back that dint materialize
Other teams couldn’t top this???
His contract is underwater, mets are probably one of the few willing to eat his contract
I don’t know about underwater. It was a 1-year team option. This trade just shows thats about his value.
Why would they want to? His salary is still 20M. That’s the part that made this happen for New York. They don’t care about the money.
Being constantly injured and playing poorly will do that.
Well that solves our “oops all infielders” problem
Haha oops, thats also our problem
Sent my boy acuna to baseball purgatory
It sucks, but he should actually get playing time there. The Mets are so loaded at middle infielder that he was only going to play as a pinch runner or if someone got hurt.
Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Brooks Baldwin, Miguel Vargas, and Lenyn Sosa: allow us to introduce ourselves
Sucks that he never panned out on the Southside. Dude should have been their star for 10+ years.
Had the same “didn’t-give-half-a-fuck-itis” as Eloy and Yoan.
Or the White Sox tanked his development.
Probably some of both.
organization was unable to identify or develop leaders on the roster during that period. some of the pitchers had that quality but there was no passion in that lineup. either way it’s the orgs fallout
edit: meant fault but it works
I feel like the hiring of Tony Larussa gave them a contagious case of “didnt-give-a-fuck-itis”
Hiring a 75+ year old alcoholic that had been retired for a decade was a choice
It helps when you have a competitive owner.
That’s it? Ffs…
The absolute most you can expect out of LRJ is 20 HR at this point. He’s looked lost at the plate for the past two seasons. His strong 2023 had completely unsustainable underlying numbers.
The hope is that he’ll be better in a lineup with any other threats. He wasn’t great but other teams also didn’t have to pitch to him ever.
The Mets don’t need him to be a star or the best player. He us replacing a Tyrone Taylor and Cedric Mullins platoon. If he goes .245 average 20 homers and .750 OpS I think the Mets will be happer.
And you get his glove
Lineup protection helps a bit, but lack of it isn’t the reason for his poor play the last couple seasons.
His best year was when he arguably had the least amount of protection.
He’s replacing Taylor who was on pace for 4 homers last year
Yeah but he’s moving to the Mets who are well run. The Sox are good at developing pitchers, but have a very bad track record with position players. Basically the only “good” hitter they developed in the past decade is Tim Anderson. And the vibes have been fucked basically LRJ’s enture Sox tenure. While I would expect LRJ to hover somewhere between everyday and replacement level player in 2026, I wouldn’t be too surprised if the Mets turn him into a genuine positive contributor.
I loved Luis Bob at his peak but dude has been absolute buns the last couple of years, like major ass phat buns
Mets are probably paying the full $20 million he is owed I’d bet
Cohen could set this money on fire. The dollar amount that made us stay away doesn’t really matter.
With Bichette and Robert, Mets are a lock for the 2021 World Series 🔥
Anything to spite Atlanta
Come on now, if you’re going to send baby Acuna to purgatory you can at least lay off us for a day.
Bellinger is going back to the Yankees, then? And with the additional $20 million from Robert on the payroll the Mets might be out on Valdez as well.
Monkeys paw curls: he goes to the White Sox.
Unless Steve Cohen wants to rival the Dodgers…
He got his casino. He’s good now
Never saw Valdez as an option. I bet they’re still in on Belli. You don’t field a competitive team expecting Robert plays good healthy ball for a full season. He’s a perfect high ceiling flyer for CF. Means we don’t need to pressure a rookie to perform at the majors.
Probably, but you never know. Soto was the Mets only sure thing starting outfielder. Taylor is a great fielder but isn’t spectacular.
As far as money goes, if the Mets can get him on 3 years, they may still go after Valdez. From how FA has seemed, Cohen and Stearns don’t care about money, just years
No way stearns was ever in on Valdez
Are people forgetting how awful Robert has become?
If you look at the return the white sox got, it is apparent that no teams forgot how awful he has become.
Not like the Mets gave up much 🤷♀️
We can fix him. We have the technology.
Everybody seems convinced that he needed a change of scenery. The way I see it, the Mets traded a solid defensive infielder that can’t hit for a solid defensive outfielder that will hit at least a little bit.
It is what it is.
We got basically Tyrone Taylor plus, who comes with the nice perk of hitting lefties for his money and expendable assets.
The upside is the change of scenery people are right, what’s the downside exactly? Ain’t my $20mm, and Acuña and Pauley aren’t likely to develop into superstars.
this thread reads like the trae young trade reaction
I understand he was a name but has anyone read a box score in years?
No
Acuña and Pauley will become superstars once they get blessed by the Pope
Why wouldn’t Pope just bless Luis Robert and save us extra steps?
because this way they get 2 guys blessed by the pope instead of 1, it’s free value
Haven’t really seen anyone address this deal in the context of CWS roster construction. It’s not an awful return on paper, but unless they are planning on Acuna playing OF, this makes zero sense for the Sox. The outfield is currently Benintendi (sort of), Derek Hill, and Everson Pereira. Conversely, in the infield they have a logjam of young players ranging from promising (Colson) to interesting-ish and/or credible depth (Meidroth, Vargas, Sosa). In the pipeline, Braden Montgomery is pretty much it for outfield, while there’s several IF prospects.
Not to mention, CWS weren’t paying anyone else, Robert wasn’t blocking anyone. If the salary dump is followed by signing a credible FA OF, great! But it won’t be. Because being a White Sox fan blows.
Making space for bellinger /s
Vargas can move to LF?
The Mets got him for free wtf
Well he bats .220 and has a 20 million salary. I wouldn’t call it free
What’s the obsession with him here?
He’s not good.
He was good for like 70 games.
He had 68 games played in 2021 with a 150 OPS+ and then in 145 games played in 2023, 5.3 WAR, with a 128 OPS+ and 38 homers. He’s def been better for more then 70 games
Great defense with any chance of upside offensively goes further than you think nowadays. CF is the weakest position depth wise in the league.
Live look at the market competing for Cody Bellinger with the Phillies, Mets, and Blue Jays all seemingly pulling out.
Perfect time for us sneaky Reds
Mets have had a good off season
It’s a great trade on paper, dude is elite in the field, fast, has show he can hit in the past.
But honestly if they get him to play more than 80 games I’d be surprised
He’ll be good, but they also gave up nothing
This is an extremely cheap price for the Mets
I’m glad we did this
Me too
Third
We want only the best for Luisangel Acuna. He’s a really good pinch runner and an infield defensive replacement. If he can find his hit tool and be reliable, then he’ll be a major-leaguer for years.
Ya I think this trade is good for both teams.
Is there a low supply of Outfielders hitting .200?
There’s a low supply of elite defensive CFs on 1 year contracts with offensive upside
loubob actually getting moved is a recession indicator, somehow
Luis is a full 5 tool player. Gold glove center fielder, can steal 40 and hit 40 homeruns, and drive in 100. Just need to keep him healthy and motivated. I think NY as a new scene may kickstart his potential. I am sad to see him go as a die-hard whitesox fan. But I think great addition for Mets
Lol yankees should lower their offer to Bellinger now.
First Bo and now this. Mets are cleaning up.
There’s no way now that Cody Bellinger doesn’t find his way back to the Bronx.
I agree, but this strikes me as a comment that will age poorly
Nooooo my only Sox jersey 😅😅
Its just safer to go for blank or anyone 05 at this point…
That’s wild, so the Mets come out on top?
Edit: Damn didn’t know Acuña had that bad a season yeah Mets come out on top for sure.
Gotta be the Mets. It’s not like they were going to do anything with Acuna and Robert is as good of an upside player as you can get imo. It’s not like they care about taking up his contract either.
Acuña’s ceiling is a utility player. He can’t even hit AAA pitching, let alone major league pitching.
So Bellingers going back to the Yankees then isn’t he
Unless we randomly take a swing at him but I do not see it
This may look like a fleece, but in reality this opens the door for Braden Montgomery to be our opening day center fielder this year
It does not look like a fleece, Robert is basically a light hitting glove at this point
WE TAKE THAT TRADE EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK
There is a chance that Luis Robert, who is only 28, is an actually great player and was just so demoralized by playing on the white sox.
subscribe!
Bellinger You are a Chicago cub (again)
Mets finally got their star outfielder born in 1997 from a Chicago team as we all expected
Rip the Acuna NL east trifecta
Acuna was a spark plug in the final stretch (season before last). His speed and Defense off the bench is fantastic but I don’t think he had room to be an everyday player here. I also think his ceiling is good but not great anymore. Overall it fills a need and swaps INF for OF but is Luis going to even be a better bat that Taylor with his last few down seasons? Guess we see.
Luisangel Acuña has been a terrible hitter in AAA, I dont even know why he’s been in the majors. This is a very light return.
Woo I can root for Baby Acuña now!
Not like Robert has the value he once did obviously but huge W for Mets pitching dev that they were able to flip a 12thround RHP and Luisgroundout Acuña who hit 0 HRs through 95 games while slugging .270 into Luis Robert.
Every year the experts say Robert is going to break out. Maybe a change of scenery will help.
We got a Luis Robert trade before GTA6
So the Mets turned old man Mad Max into Luis Robert. Will be interesting to see how he handles the bright lights of New York
Chicago’s metro has 9 million people. It’s not exactly dim.
This is probably about as good of an opportunity as Acuña will get to show he can stick around in the majors. Good luck, kid.
Mets looking really different, but in a good way. Clubhouse dynamic must have been off
Love this move for the Mets as he was the focal point on offense for the Whitesox past few years and now he finally gets to leave a miserable franchise to join a contending team that he won’t be the main offensive guy…he’s like 6th or 7th as an offense focal point with elite speed and defense! All we give up is Acuña Jr def a win for the Mets!
If it follows prior White Sox leaving, he’s gonna be really good for about a month, then disappear into obscurity
Personally never saw the hype with Robert even back when he was considered good. Maybe he will find some spark on a new team who knows.
One of my favorite White Sox for a while now. When he’s healthy his defense is unreal, and when he’s hot he can really do some damage at the plate. Good luck in NY Luis
Guess that’s who’s starting opening day in CF. I said this about EDLC, and I’ll say this about Luis Robert Jr. The idea of him is better than the player he actually is. Now, with that being said. We gave up basically nothing for him, and acquiring him is basically us taking a free swing at a guy going back to his 2021-2023 form. Kind of like what we tried with Jose Siri last year.
Acuna is off the Mets. Net positive.