WhiteSox2023

I’m not sure I would argue the former, but definitely the latter. But there is some irony to moving Crochet so quickly because you might not think he can hold up physically as a starter but at the same time you hang onto an injury-prone guy in Robert for so long.

Like I said, Getz was promoted to GM with Robert coming off of his best season in 2023. How does it make sense to immediately start a rebuild and not trade his best asset? Robert was never going to be around for the next contending Sox team. Getz then traded his best asset in Crochet one year later. Getz got all the credit in the world for selling Crochet high but people seem to forget that he could have done the exact same thing with Robert.

Getz’s big talking bluster about not trading Robert without getting true value for him was pretty epic, considering he finally just accepted the oft-rumored crappy Mets offer of Acuna that we have heard about for almost a year. 🤣

I mostly see non-Sox fans saying that the Sox held onto Robert for too long before finally trading him at his lowest value, which is exactly what Getz did.

Well, there could be an addition, if you like burnt toast outfielders like Michael Conforto. I don’t care if Boras is his agent. That dude has to hope that some team will offer him a cheap one-year deal to stave off retirement for another year. Unfortunately, I could see the White Sox being the team to help him.

Some posters were saying that Getz didn’t actually have to trade Robert for such a low return and could wait until ST or even the trade deadline to see if he could have a good first half and recoup some trade value. I didn’t think this was ever going to happen with Robert’s injury risk, and here we are. Getz pretty much insinuated the same but meanwhile, he didn’t even hold onto Robert until ST workouts begin.

NBC Sports on the trade from the Mets’ perspective: ”Mets acquired OF Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox for INF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Thomas Pauley. Robert has been largely ineffective the last two years and has quite the injury history, but he’s 28, he’s a legit center fielder and he has a career 111 OPS+. This is definitely worth a shot for the Mets, who will be responsible for paying $22 million for one year or $40 million for two. They’ll presumably handle him better than a White Sox organization that mostly expected position players to play through injury. Tyrone Taylor had topped the Mets’ depth chart in center, but now he’ll serve as the fourth outfielder he’s meant to be. He’ll presumably be on the short side of a platoon with Brett Baty in left initially, assuming the Carson Benge now starts off in Triple-A. With Acuña, who was out of options, departing, Ronny Mauricio seems poised for a utility role.”

Getz is crazy for not trading Robert coming off of his best season in 2023 after Getz was named GM, considering he immediately started another rebuild after his promotion. Considering this rebuild plan by Getz, it was obvious that Robert was not going to be around for the next good Sox team, so why not sell high on him? Honestly, what upset me the most was seeing this Jeff Passan tweet on the trade before the actual return was announced. It’s technically true, but “two young players” was exciting for a fleeting moment. 😢

Well, the nice thing with his contract is that it is an either/or choice. If Robert has a good season, you have the choice to bring him back with his final $20 million option. If he stinks in 2026, you can cut him loose with a $2 million buyout. It’s basically either a 1-year, $22 million dollar contract or a 2-year, $40 million dollar contract. But yeah, the time to sell high on him was long past.

I think it’s at around $72 million now but hopefully someone else knows the precise number.

Acuna is a lemon alright. A formerly hyped-up prospect that likely won’t amount to anything other than a utility guy at best. I think you have commented on players’ sizes before regarding their hitting profiles and Acuna just doesn’t have it. He’s almost as small as Madrigal in size and stature and has very little pop to his bat. But he can play multiple positions and has speed. Honestly, this feels like acquiring a better Leury Garcia from years ago.

Outside of signing bonuses, MLB players get paid their salaries bi-weekly during the regular season. I did not hear that Luis Robert played winter ball this offseason, so outside of a very freak and unlikely offseason injury like you mentioned, the Sox definitely had time to trade him to balance out the payroll with Murakami’s signing. I don’t think it is any surprise that Robert was just traded right before Spring Training workouts start for the Sox on February 10th. But they definitely didn’t need to trade Robert on the same day that they signed Murakami to balance the payroll with Murakami’s signing.

Crazy how Acuna was rumored for the longest time to be involved in this trade. Some people definitely had the scoop. Too bad he turned out to be the top return in the trade when many were hoping he would be the secondary piece.

“And then he was traded…”

Conforto seems like an obvious choice. Boras only works deals with the Sox when it’s his free agents that are on their last leg.

Maybe I am mistaken but Getz became GM with Robert coming off of the best season in his career. Getz immediately started another rebuild, waited too long to trade Robert, and watched his value diminish into that of a utility player. If Getz can get praised for the Crochet trade, he should definitely be dumped on for this Robert trade.

Jon Heyman for the W… According to Heyman, “The Mets inquired about Luis Robert. But for the Mets to surrender prospects, they want money back to offset Robert’s $20M salary and hard-line White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf isn’t seen as likely to give money to Steve Cohen’s team.”

Getz is to blame for not trading Robert sooner. The Sox were never going to be competitive with Robert on the team. He waited long enough for Robert’s value to be at its lowest and to have a $20 million dollar salary and a $2 million dollar buyout. Getz has also been with the Sox long enough to know that the owner rarely, if ever, sends money in trades to improve the return.

Let’s be honest — Getz turned an actual asset into diminished goods and just got bent over a table by Stearns with no lube.

NBC Sports nailed this trade in one sentence. Their later comment isn’t too exciting either. ”White Sox acquired INF/OF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Thomas Pauley from the Mets for OF Luis Robert Jr. This doesn’t seem like a sufficient return, but the White Sox obviously didn’t want to pay Robert $20 million this year. Acuña sort of held his own as a 23-year-old in the majors last season, hitting .234/.293/.274 in 193 plate appearances. He’s intriguing defensively at several key positions, he runs very well, he has decent plate discipline and he’s not entirely absent of power. It seems like a utility profile, but given that he’s just turning 24 in March, there’s some hope for him as a regular, perhaps in center field. He’ll probably battle Derek Hill, Tristan Peters and Everson Pereira for that spot in spring training. Pauley, a 2025 12th-rounder out of Harvard, allowed one run in four innings in his pro debut last season.”

I would be shocked if Acuna isn’t replacing Robert in CF instead. The Sox seem to get obsessed with bad players for whatever reason.

Exactly. They never had any intention of paying his $22 million or any intention of eating any salary to increase the return on him. This trade is 🤮-worthy. Acuna is trash. Getz held on to Robert long enough to make him a worthless trade chip.

Hello Cashman. You can have Luis Robert for 1-year and $22 million or 2-years and $40 million.

Yes. On Christmas. Never forget.