10:15am: Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that there is “nothing hot” between the Mets and White Sox regarding Robert as things stand, though he goes to acknowledge that the Mets have “checked in” on him previously and that center field could be an area the club has interest in upgrading.
9:15am: White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. has long appeared to be the club’s most obvious trade chip for the 2025 season, and a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale last weekend suggested that Chicago may be motivated to move Robert before the end of May if he were to continue playing well throughout the month. Robert has gone just 4-for-19 at the plate with one walk and five strikeouts since that piece was published, but today Nightengale reports that teams have begun to show interest in Robert with the Mets among the clubs to have checked in.
The 27-year-old could certainly make plenty of sense in Queens. Robert’s offense has left much to be desired over the past two years, as he’s slashed just .215/.282/366 with a lackluster 82 wRC+ across 137 games since the start of the 2024 season. That’s essentially a full season’s worth of games where Robert has struck out at a 32.6% clip and hit just 19 homers, though he has walked at a solid 8.3% clip and stolen 38 bases in that time while serving as a capable defensive option in center field.
While Robert’s recent production isn’t exactly exciting, it’s impossible to deny his talent. Staying healthy has always been a question for Robert, but he offered star-level production when on the field from 2021 to 2023 with a .287/.331/.511 (129 wRC+) slash line and 10.6 fWAR in just 311 games. That’s a four- to five-win player over a full season, and while his recent downturn in production makes expected a five-win campaign like his 2023 season somewhat unrealistic, it’s worth noting that Robert’s been hurt badly this year by a .244 BABIP that falls well below the career norm for a player who’s never posted a figure below .300 before in a season. A look at Robert’s solid .326 xwOBA would suggest that his underlying performance this year is more or less in line with the production he put forward in 2022, when he slashed .284/.319/.426 with a wRC+ of 111 in 98 games.
That sort of production would be extremely valuable for a Mets club that already lost its starting center fielder in Jose Siri for the first half of the season due to a fractured tibia. That’s left Tyrone Taylor to handle center field duties in Queens, and while he’s been serviceable with a .249/.295/317 (90 wRC+) slash line, he’s not exactly been an impact player for the Mets and lacks the superstar upside Robert offers. Center field is one of very few holes in New York’s lineup; the club is only ranked below average by both fWAR and wRC+ at three positions so far this year: second base, left field, and center field. Brandon Nimmo is entrenched in left and has wound up above-average at the plate in each of the last eight seasons, while second base is covered by a combination of Luisangel Acuna, Brett Baty, and Jeff McNeil. None of those names have firmly grabbed hold of the everyday job at the keystone to this point, but that depth of options makes an external addition seem unlikely.
That leaves center as the obvious place for an upgrade, and the pickings at the position figure to be slim this summer outside of Robert. Perhaps Cedric Mullins could be available if the Orioles can’t dig themselves out of their current hole in the standings. The Twins could deal either Willi Castro or former Met Harrison Bader if the club’s current seven-game winning streak proves to be simply a flash in the pan. Robert stands out from that pack, however, as an option controlled beyond the 2025 season (via a pair of $20MM club options for 2026 and ’27) and by offering higher upside than any of them.
Of course, any deal would be contingent on the sides being able to agree on an asking price. Nightengale writes that the White Sox are “eyeing” right-hander Blade Tidwell as part of the of a possible return package, though it’s unclear if the Mets would have any interesting in parting ways with the 23-year-old. Tidwell made his big league debut last week, and while it didn’t go well (six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings), he remains a valuable part of the starting pitching depth chart for a Mets club that has dealt with a number of early-season pitching injuries already. It would be understandable if the Mets were hesitant to include a big league ready arm like Tidwell in the return for Robert, especially if the deal were to happen early in the season before the trade market heats up in earnest. Speculatively speaking, the club could be more open to dealing a player like Tidwell later in the year, when they may have either received reinforcements from the injured list or swung separate trades with other clubs to acquire more starting pitching.