New York will be home to another player that the Phillies showed interest in since last July. This time, it’s definitely on the Phillies for not pulling the trigger. The Mets went shopping in Chicago and came back with a center fielder in Luis Robert Jr., a guy who the Phillies had looked at prior to the trade deadline last season. They also made some inquiries about the now former White Sox outfielder during this offseason.
To land the 28-year-old, the Metropolitans gave up infielder/outfielder Luisangel Acuna and minor league right-hander Truman Pauley. Acuna, the 23-year-old younger brother of Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., made his MLB debut in September, 2024 when he went 2-for-4 against the Phillies. In 109 games with the Mets over two seasons, Acuna has 3 home runs, 14 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts to go with a slash line of: .248/.299/.341/.640 over 233 plate appearances.
Pauley turned 22 last month and was drafted by the Mets in the 12th round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Harvard. He made three starts for Low-A St. Lucie last summer and posted a 2.08 ERA, but that was over just 4.1 innings of work. In two seasons with Harvard he was 5-10 with a 5.20 ERA in 16 starts and 13 relief appearances.
The White Sox have been dangling Robert Jr. literally for a couple of years now with no takers until the Mets took the leap. Robert was an all-star and Silver Slugger for Chicago in 2023, but has struggled since then. Over the past two seasons, Robert has hit .223/.288/.372/.660 with 28 home runs and 88 RBI in 210 games. Robert Jr. was born in Ciego de Avila, Cuba and signed with the White Sox as an international free agent, making his MLB debut in 2020. In retrospect, Chicago should have made a move after the 2023 season when Robert’s value was high.
The trade comes less than a week after the Mets were able to make an 11th hour pitch to free agent Bo Bichette and convince him to sign with them rather than join the Phillies.
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