A high-stakes trade deadline is fast approaching for the New York Mets.
As the Mets entered the All-Star break, they sat half a game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League East lead. More importantly, they've been playing mediocre baseball for a month, and they need a center fielder.
Tyrone Taylor hasn't been up to par at the plate, and Jose Siri has been out all season with a fractured leg. Bringing in a better offensive player at the position would be ideal--it's just that there aren't a lot of options present on the trade market.
One baseball writer thinks the Mets will take a swing at a former All-Star who's been unthinkably bad for the last two years.
On Monday, Sportsnaut's Matt Johnson predicted that the Mets would acquire Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox, who is in the final year of a $50 million extension and has $20M club options for 2026 and 2027.
"Luis Robert Jr. has been one of the worst hitters in baseball this season, entering the ASB with a .190 batting average and a .599 OPS. Unfortunately for the Chicago White Sox, it means they’ll get very little for the former All-Star outfielder at the MLB trade deadline," Johnson wrote.
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"This season, Mets’ center fielders have posted a disastrous .225/.298/.365 triple-slash line. New York can eat the remainder of Robert’s contract, less than $10 million total, in exchange for taking a chance on a change of scenery, helping him return closer to the form of a player who posted an .842 OPS from 2021-23."
Obviously, playing for an all-time bad team can drag down a player's performance. But it's been so long now since we've seen Robert play at an All-Star level that it's reasonable to wonder whether. that capability has deserted him.
Either way, it will be fascinating to see if any team, not just the Mets, takes that leap of faith by the end of the month.
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