Chris Getz and the Chicago White Sox front office made a bold decision at the 2025 trade deadline to keep Luis Robert Jr. instead of dealing him away.
I staunchly believe that not trading Robert Jr. and picking up his $20 million club option for 2026 was a wise decision. The recent reports about what the Sox were being offered has only reinforced that viewpoint more.
From the sound of things, the New York Mets were playing hard ball with the White Sox. The ridiculous reported trade offers made keeping Luis Robert Jr. not only the right decision, but the obvious one.
The Mets refused to include any top prospects in the trade
According to Jon Heyman at New York Post, the Mets and White Sox "never got close" on a deal for Luis Robert Jr. before the deadline.
"The Mets apparently didn't want to give up either Mark Vientos or Luisangel Acuña as part of packages or part with 3B/OF Jacob Reimer or 2B/OF A.J. Ewing, either, since they viewed Robert as a rental," wrote Heyman in a piece about why MLB stars stayed put at the deadline.
I can't necessarily blame the Mets for wanting to keep Vientos and Acuña. Both are having down seasons, but those are MLB talents contributing to the current 2025 team that's making a playoff push.
Do I think Luis Robert Jr. would have helped the Mets more than either of those guys down the stretch in 2025? Absolutely. But Vientos launched 27 home runs in 111 games in 2024. The Mets know what he's capable of, and I won't fault them for hoping he'll be better than his .641 OPS in August and September.
I will, however, criticize New York for hoarding prospects that aren't even cracking Top 100 lists.
Reimer and Ewing are the No. 6 and No. 7 prospects in the Mets organization, respectively. Neither one is MLB.com's Top 100. Reimer has not performed well in Double-A this season and Ewing is still down in High-A.
Refusing to part with those guys in a Luis Robert Jr. trade is pretty ridiculous move by the Mets front office. The White Sox were never going to move Robert for prospects outside of an organization's Top 10. They got mid-level prospects for Austin Slater...and this is Luis Robert Jr. with three potential years of control we're talking about.
Luis Robert Jr could’ve helped a contender. Last 15 days: .429 BA, 2 HR, 5 SB, .996 OPS. pic.twitter.com/pzeFHlxe4S
— Sam Fosberg (@discussbaseball) August 8, 2025
Since the start of July, Robert Jr. is batting .315 with four (4) home runs, 15 RBIs, nine (9) stolen base and an .852 OPS.
Since the trade deadline, the Mets are 2-8. They're holding mid-level prospects while the big league club rapidly collapses, just barely clinging to a playoff spot.
The White Sox are getting the last laugh with this one. The Mets made some laughable trade offers to Chicago, and now the Mets are a laughable team on the field.