Luis Robert Jr. Running Out of Mets Chances to Buy Himself More Time

New York Mets center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) reacts after he was called out on strikes to end the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

When the New York Mets acquired former All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in the offseason from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Luisangel Acuna and Truman Pulley, the Mets had dreams of Robert rekindling his offense and giving them another power bat in the outfield.

Robert Jr. came back to Earth in his last two years with the White Sox, hitting .223 at the plate with 28 combined home runs and 88 RBI. This was a far cry from what he did in 2023, when he hit .264 with 38 home runs and 80 RBI.

For the Mets, if that guy showed up this season at Citi Field, this ballclub could be in the thick of things in the National League. However, that hasn’t been the case, as Robert’s tenure has been a major disappointment thanks to injury. The veteran slugger was placed on the 10-day injured list towards the end of April with a lumbar spine disc herniation. 

Robert has only played in 24 games before going on the shelf, hitting a pedestrian .224 with two home runs and five RBI. In fact, last week, he was transferred to the 60-day injured list, which is not a good sign.

However, his injury has opened the door for rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing to show what they can do in center field. Both young outfielders have provided a spark at the plate and in the field and are looking like pieces that the Mets can build around, which is not great news for Robert’s future.

Luis Robert Jr.’s tenure with the Mets could be over in a New York minute

There’s a strong possibility that the veteran outfielder will be a free agent after this season. He has a $20 million club option for the 2027 season, which isn’t expensive and would delay his free agency for another year.

But when you have a player who is now being transferred to the 60-day IL, the hope is that he will be back on the field later this summer. At that point, the Mets could be way out of the wild card race and looking to see who could be part of their future next season.

Now, could the Mets entertain a trade for Robert by the deadline to get something of value back? Yes, they could, but given his recent injury history, the Mets likely wouldn’t get a top-15 prospect back from any club.

Therefore, it's more likely than not that he’s playing elsewhere in 2027, thanks in large part to what the rookies are doing.

This season, Benge, who made the team out of Spring Training, is hitting .252 with six home runs and 24 RBI, and has tallied 10 stolen bases. The left-handed hitting outfielder has spent most of his time in right field (39), but has seen a little bit of time in center (eight games).

Meanwhile, Ewing has seen the bulk of the action in center field and has given the Mets another lefty who can also wreak havoc on the bases. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .253 with a home run and six RBI. He’s also racked up his fair share of stolen bases (5), but has been caught stealing three times.

If you’re Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, would you rather give it one more try with Robert or continue with the young outfielders in Benge and Ewing? That question might be too early to answer since we’re not at the MLB All-Star break yet.

However, one could argue that if Ewing, specifically, shows improvement, such as hitting better against lefties (.136) in comparison to righties (.302), the Mets’ brass will have a tough question to answer about Robert’s future with the team.

The way Robert can make things hard for the team is if he’s ready to play. But until then, the longer the veteran slugger stays on the IL, the greater his chances of not being able to change the narrative about himself.