With spring training on the horizon, David Stearns continues to round out the Mets’ lineup for the 2026 season. Last night, the team acquired Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox in exchange for infielder Luisangel Acuña and RHP prospect Truman Pauley. The Mets had been linked to Robert for quite some time, and the Mets finally got the missing piece to their outfield.
Robert joins Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, and Bo Bichette as new additions to the lineup from last year. He will serve as the team’s centerfielder and will add a power threat to the bottom of the lineup. According to Fangraphs, he should slide into the eight-spot in the new-look lineup.
Robert now pushes Tyrone Taylor into the fourth outfielder role, a role for which he is better suited than the every day centerfielder.
With this latest move, the lineup looks to be mostly complete, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that options don’t remain. The biggest questions now are if Brett Baty gets moved to left field and if Carson Benge makes the team out of camp. Of course, the team still needs pitching help so either Baty or Mark Vientos could be on the move in any possible trades. For now, Vientos will probably serve as the team’s DH when there is a lefty on the mound.
This lineup has almost been completely overhauled from last year’s disappointing group, so it will be up to them to get this team back to the playoffs or, at the very least, come back in a game where they are down in the eighth inning.
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