The New York Mets made the trade to acquire center fielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Luis Angel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley. The White Sox finally pull the trigger on trading away their last piece from their 2021 season by trading away Luis Robert Jr. Although he has been struggling the past two seasons and hitting below league average, his glove is still amazing and will surely play in Queens.

The past two seasons for the Cuban star have been extremely disappointing and a far cry from his MVP form in 2023. Across the two years, he averaged 105 games, 50 runs, 87 hits, 15 home runs, 44 RBIs, 34 BB, and had a slash line of .224/.288/.372/.659 for an OPS+ of 85. He still averaged around 15 home runs and had 28 stolen bases from 2024-2025, so he is still serviceable no doubt and a much better upgrade from the Mets’ current center fielder, Tyrone Taylor, who will now slot in as the fourth outfielder for the Mets.

The Mets know what his floor is, and his floor is similar to a ceiling of Tyrone Taylor, but they are hoping that a change of scenery and the chance to play for a winner in one of the best markets in baseball will revitalize a spark in Robert’s play. If the Mets can even get a sliver of Robert’s floor, they are incredibly dangerous. In 2023, Robert put up a 5.3 WAR campaign and did it in a career-high 145 games. He hit 38 home runs, 80 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases for a slash line of .264/.315/.542/.857 for an OPS+ of 130, earning him his first and only All-Star appearance, Silver Slugger, and MVP-12 finish for the American League. I doubt Robert can return to his form next season, but at one point in his early career, he was regarded highly in the same threshold as Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero as some of the best international free agents baseball has seen.

One thing is for certain: Robert can steal and is fast, he was in the 97th sprint speed in 2025 and has reached speeds of 30.1 feet per second. To put this in context anything over 30ft per second is elite with the average for baseball being 27 feet. His 33 stolen bases last year would rank him second only behind Juan Soto’s 38 stolen bases for the Mets and ahead of Francisco Lindor with 31. It’s surprising to note that even in a down year with all metrics showing a decline he had a career high in stolen bases that even when he was an MVP candidate in 2023 he did’t reach.

I am excited to see how he progresses with a new team in 2026 and am so happy the Mets were the team to make the trade. Finally, after years of trying to pry the center fielder from the Sox, they finally gave in, and all it took was an unnamed RHP prospect drafted this year and Luis Angel Acuña, who never had the true playing time in his Mets tenure and wasn’t more than just a pinch runner. This team is really becoming what it will end up being on opening day. I am excited and nonetheless appreciate Stearns for all his efforts in tweaking this team.

Let’s go Mets!