Mets acquire Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the White Sox

The Mets are sending Luisangel Acuña and Truman Pauley to Chicago. Plus, is Cody Bellinger close to a decision, and are the Mets still in?

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• The Mets acquired Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox in exchange for Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley

• Carlos Beltrán was officially elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, securing 84.2% of the vote in his fourth year of eligibility. He is joined by Andruw Jones, who finally eclipsed the coveted 75% threshold in his ninth year, and former Met Jeff Kent, who was elected in on the Contemporary Era ballot in December (Story)

• David Wright notably earned a place on 14.8% of ballots in his third year, a major jump from last year’s 8.1%

• Bo Bichette’s three-year, $126 million contract is official - he will be introduced at a press conference at Citi Field today at 1 PM

• No. 6 prospect Jacob Reimer ranks as MLB Pipeline’s second-best third base prospect heading into 2026 (MLB.com)

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Rumor Mill 💨

• The Cardinals are among the teams who have ‘maintained contact’ with OF Austin Hays (NY Post)

• The A’s had a deal in place for Nolan Arenado, offering to absorb more money than Arizona, but Arenado indicated he wasn’t sold on waiving his no trade clause, preferring the D-Backs or Padres (The Athletic)

• Cody Bellinger is weighing offers from the Mets, Yankees and two other teams (NY Post)

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ICYMI: On the latest episode of the Just Mets podcast, Rich and Andrew compared their personal Hall of Fame ballots. Watch the preview above and subscribe to our Patreon for the full episode!

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Welcome to Queens, Luis Robert Jr. ✍️

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Well, it finally happened.

Late Tuesday night – while I was in the midst of writing a piece about Cody Bellinger – news broke that one of the longest-theorized trades in Major League Baseball had finally been completed.

The New York Mets have acquired 28-year-old CF Luis Robert, Jr. from the White Sox in exchange for Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley. The Mets are picking up all of what is owed to Robert, which includes his $20 million salary for 2026 and a $2 million buyout if they don’t pick up his $20 million option for 2027. The Mets would be on the hook for a minimum of $22 million or $40 million, depending on how Robert pans out.

The Mets originally acquired Acuña in the trade that sent Max Scherzer to the Rangers during the 2023 season. The Mets drafted Pauley in the 12th round of the 2026 July amateur draft out of Harvard.

The link between the Mets and a possible trade for Robert Jr. goes all the way back to last July, when there were rumors the Mets might be interested in a trade for Robert. That interest lingered into the off-season and obviously evolved into what can be considered a low-gamble trade for the Mets as they attempt to upgrade their outfield defense while gambling Robert Jr. can return to the form that made him one of the game’s budding stars between 2020-2023.

The question of course is whether or not the trade for Robert Jr. takes the Mets out of the race to sign Bellinger, who can still fill a major gap in left field and at first base for the club. That remains unclear at this time.

I have made my feelings known about Robert on this platform, to say the least. Those concerns remain in place: for all the defensive value and tools-y upside he provides, Robert has had a particularly tough couple of seasons at the plate, seasons that have also been marred by quite a few injuries.

However, now that he’s one of the good guys, it’s important that I acknowledge the upside he offers this lineup – because he does offer upside.

The ceiling Robert has shown is nothing short of elite. In his peak 2023 season, Robert was one of the best players in baseball: he tallied 4.9 fWAR, hitting .264/.315/.545 over 145 games with 38 homers, 80 RBI, and a 122 wRC+, with 20 swipes to boot. He was named to the All-Star team that year, and also won a Silver Slugger.

Since that breakout season, it’s been a bit of a different story. Over the past two seasons, Robert has accumulated 1.9 fWAR total, with an 84 wRC+ over roughly 100 games each year.

Still, while Robert’s 2025 left a lot to be desired, some of his production was good enough to inspire hope that a bounce back is in the tank.

All told, I’ve definitely seen worse Savant pages.

Robert finished his 2025 with a .223/.297/.364 slash line, an 84 wRC+, and 1.3 fWAR, undoubtedly boosted by his career-high 30 steals and ever-skillful defense (+7 OAA, +7 FRV). After a super-cold start to the season, Robert surged to life in July, demonstrating the level of production he’s capable of injecting into a lineup when he’s operating at full capacity. That performance didn’t end up getting him moved at the trade deadline, and his performance dipped through the rest of the second half following an injury, but his 176 wRC+ in July was clearly enough to maintain the attention of Mets brass.

One thing I’m particularly excited about with Robert is his constantly developing steal tool. Save for 2021, Robert has only ever increased his stolen base total year after year. With just 15 total swipes in his first two seasons, Robert hasn’t tallied fewer than 20 in his last three. Even more encouraging, the 20 bags he stole in 2021 happened across a full 145 game workload — he’s stolen 56 over 210 games the last two seasons, despite the injuries and limited playing time. Though he only stole three more bases in 2024 than he did in 2023, he did it in 45 fewer games; he then added 10 more steals across just 10 more games in 2025.

That’s a significant trend.

It’s no secret that the bulk of Robert’s upside these days lies in his glove and his cleats, but there are still things to like about the potential his bat holds. To start, his 92nd percentile bat speed is a tool that new hitting coach Troy Snitker can certainly build upon, especially with his already-decent barrel rate and league-average walk rate. And even though his power data isn’t at its hottest recently, Robert’s expected stats last season still graded out closer to league-average than not, which feels like an ideal baseline to build from after a change of scenery. That suggests, to me, that any mechanical changes Robert needs to make may actually be more minor than the less-than-stellar surface stats may suggest.

Robert also profiles well as a platoon complement to Tyrone Taylor, albeit unconventionally since both are right-handed hitters. But Taylor struggled significantly against lefties last season (.211/.297/.256, 62 wRC+). Meanwhile, Robert hit .258 with a 130 wRC+ against southpaws, a specific boost this Mets lineup desperately needed. And platoon aside, though neither player offers the best batting data, Robert’s bat still profiles as a clear upgrade over Taylor’s. Yes, Taylor is projected for a bit of a resurgence next season, but so is Robert, with almost twice the expected run scoring output and double the anticipated WAR.

Obviously, projections only mean so much, but it would be hard not to upgrade from Taylor’s bat – and for the price, Robert’s probably has the most upside available.

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Speaking of the cost, the package the Mets sent to Chicago seems fairly unassailable.

Acuña’s path to playing time was shrouded in lineup fog, and Pauley was a prospect sitting outside the already pitcher-heavy Top 30. Robert’s $20 million contract aside, the Mets essentially got him for pennies. Factor in his 2027 club option, and this deal worked out as well as it possibly could have for this team: they got the positional upgrade they needed at a non-detrimental cost, while retaining control of their developing core and without affecting the immediate roadmap.

The only other thing that gives me major pause with Robert is, of course, his injury history. I won’t harp too hard on it here, as you can read through it yourself, but he has a history of leg injuries, specifically nagging knee, quad and hamstring issues. In his defense, this specific concern can’t be quelled until he has a chance to prove his health, and these injuries clearly haven’t hampered his speed or range too significantly (at least not in any way that’s reflected metrically), but it’s certainly of note that he’s spent as much time on the bench in his young career as he has.

Still, ever the optimist, I’ll put my preconceptions aside and welcome him to the team with open arms. The stats he’s posted have already been posted – nothing to do about them now but learn from them. With Snitker and Kai Correa leading the development charge, my optimism, however cautious, manages to persist.

So, my old posts be damned. Welcome to the Mets, Luis Robert, Jr. Make us proud.

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Around the League 🚩

• Following the Kyle Tucker deal, MLB owners are ‘enraged’ and all but guaranteed to push for a salary cap in upcoming CBA talks (The Athletic)

• Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski publicly referred to the Bichette signing as a “gut punch” (MLB.com)

• The Mariners agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million deal with RHP Bryce Miller to avoid arbitration (MLB.com)

• The Marlins acquired RHP Bradley Blalock from the Rockies for RHP Jake Brooks

• The Rangers designated former Met pitching prospect Dom Hamel for assignment after signing Jakob Junis on Sunday (MLB Trade Rumors)