What the White Sox Initially Wanted From Mets in Luis Robert Jr. Trade

When news broke that the New York Mets had acquired talented outfielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade this past offseason, it felt like this news was a long time coming.

Robert Jr. has been on the trade market for what felt like years, as the White Sox were eager to part ways with one of the most expensive players on their roster, given that the team has been among baseball's worst over the past few seasons. Yet, despite Robert Jr.'s mediocre past two seasons, Chicago's front office wasn't willing to part ways with him for pennies.

Ultimately, it took Luisangel Acuña Jr. and right-handed pitcher Truman Pauley for the Mets to acquire Robert this winter. And the trade had already paid dividends in the form of Robert Jr. hitting .333 with a 1.007 OPS and a walk-off home run through 15 at-bats in the 2025 campaign.

New York Mets third base coach Tim Leiper (63) congratulates Luis Robert Jr. (88) | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Granted, it's still way too early to tell whether the 28-year-old will be able to sustain this form throughout a season (or even whether he'll remain healthy). But given what New York gave up in return for him, the franchise has got to be feeling pretty good.

White Sox Wanted Brett Baty In Exchange For Robert Jr.

Considering how long it took these two teams to reach a deal involving Robert Jr., it was clear that several players were discussed on the Mets' side.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post conveyed this by writing in a March 31 article that the White Sox were initially trying to acquire Brett Baty in exchange for Robert Jr., but the Mets were having none of them. New York then responded by trying to offer Mark Vientos, but the White Sox weren't interested in a hit-first righty bat.

UPDATE

Trade talks this offseason between the Mets and White Sox included multiple proposals, per @JonHeyman

Chicago initially pushed for Brett Baty in a deal involving Luis Robert Jr., but New York declined. The Mets instead offered Mark Vientos, which the White Sox turned… pic.twitter.com/jUH8q6pKMx
— SleeperMets (@SleeperMets) March 31, 2026

Ultimately, the addition of Acuña was enough to get a trade over the line, which essentially solidified the Mets' center field equation for the 2026 season.

One would see Acuña blossoming into an elite player. However, the Mets' current roster situation made it clear that he wasn't going to see much playing time during the 2026 campaign, and the Mets are looking to optimize their roster to win a World Series. So trading him instead of Baty, who figures to be a major piece of the team's success season, was a wise choice by David Stearns that might keep looking wiser as the season progresses.

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