While the Luis Robert Jr. trade centered on financial flexibility, RHP Truman Pauley is the White Sox trying to turn raw pitching talent into a future MLB contributor.
It’s not hard to see that the trade of Luis Robert Jr. was more about dumping salary than maximizing the prospect return for the Chicago White Sox.
Had Chicago moved Robert to a different team and eaten a chunk of his $20 million salary for 2026, they likely could have enhanced the haul of players coming back in the deal.
But because it was the New York Mets, and because it meant working with Steve Cohen, the White Sox opted for the financial flexibility that came with moving the entire contract.
Still, two players came back to the White Sox in the trade — and they’re clearly two players the organization sees something in, even if right now it’s just a seed of potential.
Luisangel Acuña — a former Top 100 prospect and the brother of MLB superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. — was the headliner. I have some doubts about Acuña’s ability to hit at the big league level (and even in the upper levels of the minor leagues, for that matter), but he absolutely brings speed, baserunning value, and defense to the table.
The White Sox are hoping that giving Acuña more runway with regular playing time — and continuing to refine his swing — can unlock the potential evaluators saw years ago.
The second player in the trade is much more of an unknown. He’s a 12th-round pick from an Ivy League program with very little minor league experience. So what did the White Sox see in him?
Here’s everything you need to know about right-handed pitcher Truman Pauley and what the White Sox are getting in the newest member of their farm system.
Pauley, 22, is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-hander the Mets selected in the 12th round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Harvard University. The selection — and especially the $400,000 signing bonus — tells you New York believed there was more here than a typical Day 3 arm. That bonus was closer to sixth-round money and ranked among the highest for players taken in that range, a strong testament to his upside.
Across two seasons at Harvard, Pauley showed both the flashes and volatility you often see in project arms. During the 2025 season, he posted a 4.61 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP across 70.1 innings, working primarily as a starting pitcher. The swing-and-miss ability jumps off the page — 91 strikeouts last season alone — but the command still needs tightening after 89 walks across 114.1 collegiate innings.
Pauley dominated Ivy League competition in key categories, leading the conference in strikeouts and opponent batting average. He also ranked third nationally in hits allowed per nine innings at 5.37, showing how difficult he was to square up when he was around the zone.
The raw stuff and pitch characteristics are there. He has four offerings that project to be above average. The next step is refining execution.
Pauley signed with the Mets and spent his first month at the complex in Florida. By the end of August, he was promoted to St. Lucie and made three A-ball appearances to close out the season.
In 4.1 innings, Pauley walked four and allowed one earned run (2.08 ERA) while not allowing a single hit.
The volatility in his profile — inconsistent control paired with an intriguing raw arsenal — likely puts Pauley on a relief trajectory long term. I wouldn’t be surprised if the White Sox moved him into that role sooner rather than later, with the goal of accelerating his development timeline through the minor league system.
He has already been assigned to Low-A Kannapolis, and at 22 years old, this is an arm we could realistically see pitch across three or more levels this season if he finds early success.
Ultimately, he’s probably never going to crack a Top 30 prospect list. He’s not projected as a future closer or savior of the bullpen. But the White Sox do believe he can be an MLB contributor at some point — and that they can extract real value from the Robert trade through player development wins.
Finding ways to get players like Pauley to the big leagues — and developing them well enough to reap even incremental gains — is exactly the type of small-margin success the White Sox are chasing under GM Chris Getz.
For now, he’s simply a name to keep an eye on when you check minor league box scores this season.