The New York Mets made another trade last night that's significant, but not particularly splashy or exciting. The Mets acquired outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox, and in return they sent infielder Luisangel Acuna and minor league right-hander Truman Pauley to Chicago.
This trade fills an outfield gap, and there are several conclusions that can be drawn from it: (1) It was a direct reaction to being outbid for outfield Kyle Tucker by the Los Angeles Dodgers (2) GM David Stearns doesn’t like any of the outfield trade proposals that are currently on the table (3) the Mets are fairly sure that prospect Carson Benge isn’t ready to start the season as their center fielder, which make sense since Benge hit just .178 in 90 at-bats at Triple-A Syracuse during his late-season cameo there.
An ancillary conclusion is that the Mets didn’t have to give up much to get Robert. Acuna started his career as a top prospect with the Rangers, and the Mets have been hoping he’d rise up and grab an infield job since he made his big league debut with New York in 2024, but it hasn’t happened.
He was penciled in as a utility infielder this year, despite the fact that he’s been tearing it up in Venezuelan winter league. That performance hasn’t translated to New York, though, and he’ll get more playing time and a chance to figure it out with the White Sox.
Pauley is a late-round draft pick out of Harvard who’s just starting his career in the low minors, according to Josh Norris of Baseball America, and he's basically a throw-in in this deal. The 22-year old right hander made his pro debut this year at Low-A St. Lucie where he pitched 4-1/3 innings over three outings. His arsenal is based on heavy sink, with a low-90s fastball complemented by a slider, cutter and splitter.
Robert shot out of the gate as a White Sox prospect, but his career has stalled since. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, then hit 38 home runs in 2023 and received MVP votes. Since then he’s tailed off tremendously, and last year his slash line was an anemic .223/.297/.364. He’s a stellar defensive outfielder who's also a Gold Glove winner, though, which the Mets desperately need right now.
Robert also represents a stopgap option in center who won't cost a lot while Benge finishes his development process. Robert fits the recent Mets profile of short-term deals, with an expiring contract that pays him $20 million this year and comes with a team option for 2027.
The big question for the Mets now is who plays left. Right now the betting favorite is third baseman Brett Baty, but he also could be included in a trade before spring training given that he's only seen spot action in the outifeld. If Benge shows out in spring training, the Mets could conceivably move Robert to left and punt the long-term answer to that question down the road, but there’s likely another shoe to drop here that’s either another trade or a free agent signing.