What White Sox stand to gain from Robert trade

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin's White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO – The final White Sox plate appearance for Luis Robert Jr. was a ground ball to shortstop for the second out of the second inning in a 5-4 home loss to the Royals on Aug. 26. It came two pitches after a Colson Montgomery home run.

It was, unfortunately, symbolic of the injury-plagued part of Robert’s White Sox legacy, as he suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain running to first and was replaced by Michael A. Taylor in the top of the fourth. Chicago traded Robert to the Mets for infielder Luisangel Acuña and Minor League right-handed pitcher Truman Pauley on Jan. 20, morphing his 2025 farewell into his White Sox farewell.

This move represented the culmination of trade rumors ranging back to the 2024 Trade Deadline surrounding the five-tool talent with 102 career home runs and 102 stolen bases. Media members often asked Robert about the possibility of being moved amid this latest rebuild, and he would talk frankly and honestly about wanting to stay with the only team he had ever known.

General manager Chris Getz discussed how the organization liked Robert and how he fit very well in the middle of the diamond, although Getz added the caveat of listening to all offers and ultimately doing what’s best for the White Sox. Eventually, this trade had to happen for both sides after Chicago picked up Robert’s $20 million option for the upcoming season. Robert was viewed as one of the last big trade components to enhance the rebuild, with Getz and the White Sox operating as such in trade asks.

Providing a runway for an exciting but unproven talent such as Acuña, as well as five-plus years of contractual control, was the crux of the trade, per Getz. With the Mets picking up the $22 million owed to Robert (a $2 million buyout on a second $20 million option for 2027), the White Sox obtained budgetary flexibility to add on in other areas and improve the team.

That flexibility reportedly yielded right-hander Seranthony Domínguez, a strong late-inning leverage relief option for a team with a 15-36 record in one-run games last season. It finally erases lingering doubt for Robert and the White Sox with pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 10.

“We can just go out there as a team and focus on getting better and winning baseball games,” Getz said. “I can’t speak for every player in how they manage rumors that are swirling or any sort of how they internalize that.

“Everyone kind of deals with that differently. If you ask most players, 95% of the time, they would like to know where they are going to be for a season. In Robert’s case, he now can put that behind him and go and play in New York.”

Robert was a tireless worker, recognized as such by White Sox teammates, managers, coaches and front-office members alike. He fit in well with a playoff contender in 2020-21, just as he did with the developing younger core over the past three years while speaking up more in ‘25. The 28-year-old has the raw ability to have put together one of the best overall seasons in franchise history during the ’23 campaign, with 38 home runs, 36 doubles, 80 RBIs, 90 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. He could hit a ball 475 feet and then leap over the fence in center to take away a home run within the same inning or two.

Those injuries kept Robert from reaching superstardom level, with his offense also dropping to a .223/.288/.372 slash line from 2024-25 over 210 games and 856 plate appearances. But his handling of the trade rumors never changed, right up until the end.

Robert had just finished an interview session one day prior to the 2025 Trade Deadline when a few media members shook his hand and wished him well. Not expecting to go anywhere, Robert smiled, shook his head and delivered said message.

Two days later, there was Robert, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI and his 28th stolen base on Aug. 1 in Anaheim. Now, he’s gone to New York, leaving him as the last man off the roster from the 2021 American League Central division winners in a five-year time span.

“Obviously, the talent is real,” Getz said. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the consistency that he had hoped or we had hoped. I know that he cares about the game deeply, he wants to play well. It’s a challenging game. I know injuries have really held him back.

“If you can rewind the clock and look at his ’23 and prior seasons, they were really impactful for this organization, and he deserves a lot of credit for doing that. The last couple of years, it just hasn’t been there. We felt like it was time to make this move, turn the page and continue this build forward.”