MLB Mock Trade: Phillies Go All-In For Luis Robert Jr., Send White Sox Elite Haul of Prospects

The Philadelphia Phillies are so close. So close.

Currently half a game behind the NL East-leading New York Mets, manager Rob Thomson and his crew are eyeing their fourth consecutive trip to the playoffs, and if the season ended today, they’d Wild Card their way into September and (hopefully for their sake) beyond.

If a late-season run is to be a thing—and if the Phils want to return to the World Series for the first time since 2022—they could use an injection of offense.

And the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Chicago White Sox could provide just that.

Power Outage

At the plate, the Phillies have their fair share of beasts—Bryce Harper is rounding into form, Trea Turner is sniffing a career-high in RBIs, and Kyle Schwarber is downright scary—but they sit just 12th in MLB in runs scored (469) and their run differential is a just-above-average +63, good for eighth place.

They rank 13th in home runs (115), but take Schwarber’s 34 dingers out of the equation, and they plummet to 29th, just above the Pittsburgh Pirates and their horrifying 68.

So to reiterate: More offense.

And to reiterate again: The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Chicago White Sox could provide just that.

One Major Fix, One Minor Fix

The Sox 37-66 Sox are a fire sale waiting to happen: This iteration of their major league roster ain’t goin’ nowhere, while their farm system is looking more-than-competent, so here’s a deal that might fulfill some needs on both sides:

Philadelphia Phillies receive:

Luis Robert Jr. (CF)

Chicago White Sox receive:

Justin Crawford (OF - Triple-A - #3 prospect)

Mick Abel (RHP – Triple-A - #2 prospect)

Don’t Freak Out, Phillies Nation—This Makes Sense

Does it behoove Philly to ship out three super-solid prospects for a dude who hasn’t batted over .300 since 2021? A dude who’s only topped 20 dingers once in his career? A dude who’s played in over 100 games just twice in his five full major league seasons?

Most likely.

Gut feeling says that Robert is the ultimate will-improve-with-a-change-of-scenery kind of guy. It’s hard to get motivated to bring it for a team with whom you’ve never seen a .500-plus record. And lest we forget, Robert was an All-Star in 2023 and a Gold Glove winner three seasons prior.

Best of all for the Phillies, his 26 stolen bases would lead the team that’s already sixth in the league in swipes. And his 10 homers would be the squad’s fifth-most.

That kind of performance alone could get the Phils across the NL East finish line. And if Robert becomes even half of the 2020 self, a World Series return could very much be a thing.

He’d be under team control until 2027—with club options for both 2026 and 2027—more than enough time to determine whether or not to keep in him the fold long-term.

I know, I know, they’d be giving the Sox a trio of blue chippers—Crawford’s hitting .331 at Triple-A Lehigh, while Abel showed signs in his five 2025 starts with the Phils—but both their major and minor league personnel situation (Bleacher Report ranks their farm system as fifth-best in the league)—is strong enough to survive the loss of three prospects.

Successful South Side Swap

As for the Sox, they move on from a guy from whom they’ve been trying to move on seemingly forever, and further improve an already-impressive farm system that Bleacher Report ranks at nine.

This season is a wash on the South Side—as is the next, and likely the next—but this is the kind of move that’ll tee them up for a run in 2028 or 2029. And for the White Sox, that’s the best they can hope for.

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