It's the deal that everyone has been waiting for since basically the opening of the 2025 MLB season.
The campaign has come and gone, and Luis Robert Jr. Is still a Chicago White Sox player, and the New York Mets still need a centerfielder. Will a trade ever get done?
ESPN's insider duo of Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel think it will.
They give Robert a 60% chance of being traded in the offseason, with the Mets listed as one of four landing spots (along with the Giants, Phillies and Reds).
"Now is finally the time, it seems, for Robert to move," the ESPN duo writes. "The White Sox held on to him after his excellent 2023, hoping to cash in at the deadline in 2024. Then, Robert cratered and took his trade value with him. Though Chicago wouldn't be giving him away, the combination of two bad years and a substantial salary would limit the return on any potential deal."
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The White Sox could alternatively decide to wait for the trade deadline yet again. That can create a new sense of urgency. For that to work out, though, they need Robert to play better in the first half than he did in 2025.
"The White Sox picked up Robert's $20 million option for 2026, and they have another $20 million club option for 2027," Passan and McDaniel write. "He still has elite tools -- in the 90th or better percentile, per Baseball Savant, for sprint speed, defensive range, and bat speed -- but has been inconsistent, injured and unlucky on balls in play over the past two seasons. His 4.9 WAR campaign in 2023 (.264 average, 38 homers, 20 stolen bases, plus defense) is what Chicago or any team that acquires him is banking on seeing again, rather than the combined 1.9 WAR since."
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Robert would certainly be an upgrade for the Mets.
But the question isn't only whether they can get the deal over the line, but whether they can beat out the other teams that would love a talented centerfielder, too. There's still a lot to be determined here.
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