Despite being in the middle of an awful season, one ESPN MLB analyst believes the New York Mets are a “perfect” landing spot for one-time All-Star Luis Robert Jr in July.
“When the Mets acquired Jose Siri during the offseason, it seemed likely that Siri was a stopgap solution while New York waited on some of its outfield prospects to mature. Tyrone Taylor has logged the most time in center, but he’s best suited for a complementary role,” ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle writes.
“Among the prospects, Drew Gilbert is in Triple-A, but hasn’t hit there so far. Thus, center is an obvious position of need for New York, which seems like a great landing spot for Luis Robert Jr.”
The Chicago White Sox center fielder has been in trade rumors for the last two seasons. However, in that time, he has done everything possible on the field to destroy his value. After a breakthrough season in 2023 where he earned All-Star honors, posted career highs in home runs (38), RBI’s (80), and runs (90), he has been a shell of himself.
Last season, he posted a career-worst slashline of .224/.278/.379/.657. The hope was that 2024 was an outlier and he would bounce back to All-Star form this year. Unfortunately, after 59 games, he is on pace to put up even worse numbers than last year, as he currently owns a sad slashline of .184/.269/.304/.574.
Making the case for the New York Mets to make a Luis Robert Jr. trade
The Mets have gotten little offensively from centerfield this season. However, even Taylor has been better statistically than Robert Jr. A trade to New York would be all about potential. Could a change of scenery, atmosphere, and a better lineup get him back to being an impact player? Furthermore, with his value so low, the Mets may not have to part with the same level of prospects as they would have two years ago.
Robert Jr. is owed $20 million in each of the next two seasons. However, they are both club options (via Spotrac). So if it seems like he is still a broken player after adding him in the second half, the team can cut bait and move on. But if he can get his groove back, he could be a huge addition as they try and reach the World Series in October.
More New York Mets rumors and news:
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