New details of White Sox-Mets Luis Robert Jr. trade process will confound fans

If you’re anything like me, you were a bit underwhelmed by the White Sox offseason trade that sent Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets for Luisangel Acuna and RHP Truman Pauley. It’s not that I was expecting the White Sox to land any top prospects for Robert, who has struggled to stay healthy and produce over the past few seasons, but the trade felt more to me like a salary dump than a true deal for assets. This week NY Post’s Jon Heyman provided more insight into the deal, including some other names that were discussed, and it makes the whole thing even more confusing for the White Sox. 

According to Heyman, the White Sox originally asked the Mets for infielder Brett Baty in the Robert deal, which the Mets declined. The Mets then countered with infielder Mark Vientos headlining the deal, but the White Sox weren’t interested in another right-handed corner bat, and asked for Acuna instead. 

The White Sox decision to pass on Mark Vientos is a curious one

I understand the belief that the White Sox roster has too many right-handed corner bats, and I don’t necessarily disagree, but Vientos would represent an upgrade over Lenyn Sosa and has shown the ability to produce good power at the big league level. Vientos, 26, had a rough go in 2025 and still managed to produce 17 home runs. He hit 27 during his breakout 2024 season and posted an .837 OPS in 111 games. On the other hand, Luisangel Acuna has never proven that he can hit at the big league level. It feels to me like adding Vientos would’ve been the smarter move. 

Chris Getz and the White Sox have spoken about how high they are on Acuna since the trade (though they don’t seem to know which side of the plate he hits from), but many teams will try to hype up their own players regardless of their true feelings. This update would seem to verify that the White Sox praise for Acuna truly is how they feel. I can’t tell if that’s good news or not. There’s a long way to go this season, but Luisangel Acuna still doesn’t look like a major league hitter at the plate, and his two-error performance on Tuesday in Miami leaves questions about his viability in the outfield as well. 

There haven’t been many positives to take away from the White Sox 1-5 start. The starting pitching has been unable to provide any sort of length and the bullpen we thought might be a strength has been far from it. The White Sox have hit some home runs, but the offense has struck out way too many times and hasn’t been able to consistently put quality at bats together. It’s been a disappointing start for a team that felt some real momentum at the end of last season. But it’s a long season, so there’s plenty of time to course correct. 

I felt good about the White Sox offseason moves outside of the Robert trade, and unfortunately, this recent development doesn’t make me feel any better about the trade. As Luis Robert Jr. continues to thrive in New York and Luisangel Acuna continues to struggle in Chicago, it’s starting to feel like the White Sox made a big mistake.