The Mets, continuing their roster overhaul after their disastrous 2025, agreed to a trade with the White Sox for center fielder Luis Robert Jr on Tuesday night. The Mets are sending two young players to the South Side of Chicago in return, one we have seen a lot of in Luisangel Acuña, and one that is (was) new to the organization in RHP prospect Truman Pauley.
Robert Jr. has been the subject of a lot of trade discussions over the past few seasons, and has had a rather tumultuous career despite being only 28 years old. He signed a six year, $50m contract in January 2020, before he appeared in a Major League game. After an average debut during the COVID-shortened season, he burst onto the scene in 2021 with an incredible 68 game performance that saw him hit .338/.378/.567 (155 wRC+), accumulating 3.4 fWAR in those 68 games. He never reached those heights again, but a good 2022 (111 wRC+, 2.1 fWAR in 98 games), and a great 2023 (129 wRC+, 4.9 fWAR in 145 games), making his pre-debut contract look like a steal for the White Sox.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, injuries to his lower half put huge dampers on his 2024 and 2025 seasons, as he has hit a combined .223/.288/.372 (84 wRC+, 1.8 fWAR) in 210 games. Despite the drop in offensive performance, Robert has maintained his sprint speed (90th percentile last season), and his defensive acumen (7 OAA, 93rd percentile), giving the Mets a bonafide center fielder at the very least, if they cannot bring the bat back to life. It has been nothing short of the roller coaster for Robert and the White Sox, who have flirted with trading Robert dating back to last year’s trade deadline.
Luisangel Acuña, one of the two players going back to the White Sox, has had an up and down time in Queens in his own right. Acquired at the 2023 trade deadline from the Texas Rangers for Max Scherzer, Acuña never found his footing in the Mets organization. He got leapfrogged by other prospects, and when he finally got an extended run in the big leagues last season, struggled pretty mightily, hitting .234/.293/.274 (65 wRC+, 0,4 fWAR) in 95 games. Truman Pauley, the second piece going to Chicago, is quite an interesting prospect. Drafted in the 12th round out of Harvard in last year’s draft, is a right hander with very interesting pitch metrics, especially in regards to his fastball.
The Mets will be taking all of Robert’s $20m he is set to earn in 2026, and also will be on the hook for a $20m team option if they choose to exercise it for 2027. The option has a $2m buyout.
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