Luis Robert Jr. trade confirms Guardians fans don't have to credit White Sox at all

There’s no denying 2020 was the year of Luis Robert Jr. Not only did the White Sox sign him to a six-year, $50 million before he stepped on a big league diamond, but he also made his MLB debut at the beginning of the truncated season.

And he ended up putting together a solid season for a White Sox team that made it to the postseason, and was even better in 2021 in a season where Chicago repeated as division champs. His future looked as bright as anyone’s in baseball. 

But the funny thing about the future is that sometimes it doesn’t go the way you expect. 

Along with Robert’s career being derailed by injuries, the White Sox fell off a cliff and have turned into one of the American League’s biggest bottom-feeders. That sharp decline has led to plenty of trade buzz following Robert for the past couple seasons, though the White Sox didn’t seem incredibly interested in trading him.

That changed Tuesday night, as the White Sox finally pulled the ripcord and dealt Robert to the New York Mets in exchange for INF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley. The move was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. 

While Acuña is a solid prospect who was once the main return for Max Scherzer, it’s still a bit of a light return for a player with a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and All-Star nod on his résumé. 

And although there’s going to be plenty of time to analyze the fallout of the trade (and dance on the grave of the early 2020’s White Sox), it’s clear that the trade of Robert is the final nail in the coffin of a Chicago core that was supposed to kill the Guardians. 

Luis Robert Jr. trade confirms White Sox won’t stand in Guardians’ way in 2026 

Don’t get us wrong, Robert is a talented player, especially when you consider that he’s only going to make $20 million this season. But it’s tough to get much from that talent when he’s not on the field. 

Robert’s only played in 210 games over the past two seasons and has posted a .233/.288/.372 slashline with just 28 home runs and 88 RBI in that time period. He’s been worth 1.8 fWAR in that time, which puts him in the same category as Max Kepler, Spencer Steer and Trevor Larnach. 

All of whom are solid players, but it’s not the kind of production the White Sox expected out of him. 

The year prior was Robert at the height of his power, as he finished the 2023 season with 38 home runs and 80 RBI in 145 games to earn some down-ballot MVP votes. 

While the White Sox bested the Guardians in the American League Central in 2021, that title proved to be fool’s gold thanks in large part to regression from players like Robert, Yoán Moncada and José Abreu. 

The White Sox tore things down to the studs in the years after that title, and their trade of Robert is them getting rid of the last vestiges of that time period. Meanwhile, the Guardians have made the postseason in three of the last four seasons and while also feasting on the White Sox in that time period. 

The irony is that Robert has the exact skillset the Guardians desperately need in their outfield, but a trade for him never seemed realistic given his checkered injury history and the fact Cleveland would likely need to overpay for him given it would be an interdivision trade.  

Even though Chicago’s front office has made some intriguing moves this winter, it doesn’t take away from how far they’ve fallen since the start of the decade.