Interesting string where it's posited that the Mets need more international money to sign their whole class. 

 

Last week it was reported they were looking to trade for more money. I would guess (if they are indeed confident) that they have a deal or 2 lined up.

— Daniel Wexler (@WexlerRules) January 3, 2026

 

I imagine whatever trade they are looking at for a CF will include IFA money for an increased prospect package

Example

Luis Robert Jr. + $250k IFA money for like Acuna + Pintaro

— Mikey O’Connor (@OCBaseball814) January 3, 2026

 

Somebody using Grok to scrape the net for Braves' rumors...

 

Recent Braves rumors (as of Jan 2, 2026):

- Predicted trade for White Sox's Luis Robert Jr., offering prospects like AJ Smith-Shawver for his power and defense (ClutchPoints, 3 hrs ago).

- Interest in adding a starter like Framber Valdez or Ranger Suárez after missing Tatsuya…

— Grok (@grok) January 2, 2026

 

5 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Somebody using Grok to scrape the net for Braves' rumors...

 

 

I hadn’t considered intentional money along with him, though I’d rather the Sox just spent that allocation.

1 minute ago, Bob Sacamano said:

I hadn’t considered intentional money along with him, though I’d rather the Sox just spent that allocation.

Jimmy just reported the Sox are a week away from the new period and have a significant amount unaccounted for.

8 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Jimmy just reported the Sox are a week away from the new period and have a significant amount unaccounted for.

Guess we’ll see soon enough.

Yankees cancelled all of their pre-agreements, so I imagine they'll have plenty of IFA money to trade for anyone who comes asking

2 minutes ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

Yankees cancelled all of their pre-agreements, so I imagine they'll have plenty of IFA money to trade for anyone who comes asking

Really? Any particular reason why? I think they just changed international scouting director, but I wouldn't think they'd cancel everything over that, unless there was some shenanigans going on. 

Something called "ClutchPoints" hypothesizing a Sox/Mets trade return

Will Watson, R.J. Gordon and Jose Chirinos for Robert. 

 

As a Sox fan, sign me up for this right now.

Mets’ perfect trade offer for White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. - Yahoo Sports https://t.co/Nd4iX6Y2Ap

— hanzik5 (@blkranger12) January 4, 2026

 

30 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Something called "ClutchPoints" hypothesizing a Sox/Mets trade return

Will Watson, R.J. Gordon and Jose Chirinos for Robert. 

 

 

So we’d get the Mets number 11, 25, and another pitcher outside their rankings board. All pitchers.

Why the hell not. Sign me up if you can’t get a single stud pitching prospect for him.

2 hours ago, WestEddy said:

Really? Any particular reason why? I think they just changed international scouting director, but I wouldn't think they'd cancel everything over that, unless there was some shenanigans going on. 

Honestly seems like something shady was going on and they are getting in front of it. Not only did they fire their scouting director, but they also fired the assistant to him. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't gotten more attention.

9 hours ago, hi8is said:

So we’d get the Mets number 11, 25, and another pitcher outside their rankings board. All pitchers.

Why the hell not. Sign me up if you can’t get a single stud pitching prospect for him.

Doesn't sound like much to me.

I think the Robert situation will play out exactly like last year. They’ll keep him and hope he increases his value at the deadline, and then they will probably still hold onto him because the offers aren’t to their liking.

I can’t recall another player whose value is seemingly so different from the White Sox perspective compared to how every other team values them.

23 minutes ago, ChiSoxFanMike said:

I think the Robert situation will play out exactly like last year. They’ll keep him and hope he increases his value at the deadline, and then they will probably still hold onto him because the offers aren’t to their liking.

I can’t recall another player whose value is seemingly so different from the White Sox perspective compared to how every other team values them.

I'm coming around to the thought that the White Sox aren't repeatedly marketing Robert and failing, but they made the decision that he's the best option as their CF, and if another team wants to change their plans, it's going to cost them. 

22 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

I'm coming around to the thought that the White Sox aren't repeatedly marketing Robert and failing, but they made the decision that he's the best option as their CF, and if another team wants to change their plans, it's going to cost them. 

I hope so. They certainly shouldn’t give him away just for the sake of trading him. Like you said, he’s their best option in CF and I’d like to see what he can do with a clean slate in this new lineup between Colson and Murakami.

43 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

I'm coming around to the thought that the White Sox aren't repeatedly marketing Robert and failing, but they made the decision that he's the best option as their CF, and if another team wants to change their plans, it's going to cost them. 

To me it seems that the Sox thought they would have an easier time trading him for prospects of value but no teams want to give up any decent prospects and they also want the Sox to eat a large part of his $20 million dollar salary.  I doubt they want to keep him into the season and hope he raises his value considering how injury-prone he is but they may be forced to.

Edited January 6Jan 6 by WhiteSox2023

I, for one, am shocked to hear WestEddy is coming around to the idea that Getz didn't misplay his hand and was actually right and in control all along.

2 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I, for one, am shocked to hear WestEddy is coming around to the idea that Getz didn't misplay his hand and was actually right and in control all along.

I don’t know.  It was a slippery slope.  They kept him for too long without trading him but we all have hope that he can somewhat reproduce his 2023, but it just hasn’t happened.  Betting on Robert is like going to a casino and expecting to win.  You have high hopes at first but keep getting let down the more money you lose.

7 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I, for one, am shocked to hear WestEddy is coming around to the idea that Getz didn't misplay his hand and was actually right and in control all along.

Those who subscribe to the hive mind are generally shocked by those who can step back and look at the big picture. You don't have to look on in awe from the outside. I'll bet you have it in you to do it too. 

23 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I, for one, am shocked to hear WestEddy is coming around to the idea that Getz didn't misplay his hand and was actually right and in control all along.

#HeGetzUs

28 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

To me it seems that the Sox thought they would have an easier time trading him for prospects of value but no teams want to give up any decent prospects and they also want the Sox to eat a large part of his $20 million dollar salary.  I doubt they want to keep him into the season and hope he raises his value considering how injury-prone he is but they may be forced to.

Which is wild since we have years of precedent here.  Also if this was the case, why wouldn't they just say this and stop the trade talks.

13 hours ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

Yankees cancelled all of their pre-agreements, so I imagine they'll have plenty of IFA money to trade for anyone who comes asking

 

11 hours ago, CWSpalehoseCWS said:

Honestly seems like something shady was going on and they are getting in front of it. Not only did they fire their scouting director, but they also fired the assistant to him. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't gotten more attention.

Yeah, I hadn't seen this yet, and it seems like this should be headline baseball news, and it isn't.  Weird.

32 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Those who subscribe to the hive mind are generally shocked by those who can step back and look at the big picture. You don't have to look on in awe from the outside. I'll bet you have it in you to do it too. 

Luis Robert has been in the rumor mill for 1 1/2 years and all but about 6 months of Chris Getz tenure. Your big picture is the Sox never intended to trade him, and not that the Sox have misread the market for 18 months, which is why they're still holding a bag in the return line years after being dissatisfied with the product. 

Dec 2024

" Chris Getz told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen (multiple links) and other reporters that his team has “gotten a lot of interest” in Robert’s services during the Winter Meetings."

June 4 2024

"Yes, the White Sox are willing to deal center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who is expected to return from a hip injury this week and is signed through 2027."

The last time Robert was "untouchable" was July of 2023 in a hilarious report (looking back on it):

"Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports the Sox are prepared to seriously consider offers on all but four players: center fielder Luis Robert Jr., ace Dylan Cease, first baseman Andrew Vaughn and left fielder Eloy Jiménez."

Although the above was Hahn. The only time Getz expressed interest in Robert was the off-season after 2023 into 2024. 

All of the above was actually because Getz wanted to keep Robert motivated by dangling his future by a thread? Or it was Getz trying to make other GM's waste their time calling him? 

32 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Luis Robert has been in the rumor mill for 1 1/2 years and all but about 6 months of Chris Getz tenure. Your big picture is the Sox never intended to trade him, and not that the Sox have misread the market for 18 months, which is why they're still holding a bag in the return line years after being dissatisfied with the product. 

Wow. I've so gotten into your head that you now think your thoughts are actually mine? LOL. Buy a guy a drink, first. 

The choice here seems to be that either Chris Getz and the entire White Sox front office are so completely in over their heads that they are regularly misjudging the market for Luis Robert, or Robert's their CF this off-season, and they'll move him for a non-trivial return. I can understand how breaking nonsensical narratives down to simple realities confounds you, since you're the one who has chastised the entire board for not being embarrassed enough that you thought Vinny Capra and Oliver Dunn are better players than Shane Smith because the Brewers rostered them while exposing Smith to the Rule 5 draft. 

I prefer to run with the explanation that requires fewer yoga classes for pretzel-shape twisting. 

Seriously, before you start typing "make it make sense", or "I'm just laughing at...", consider that for multiple trade deadlines and offseasons, the Sox have entertained trade talk for Robert, and wound up keeping him. A rational person might surmise that Getz looked at the offers and decided that plugging Robert back into CF is worth more to the team than the unsatisfactory package or return the market is offering. If you really think that Getz is receiving offers that are worth more than playing Robert, it's incumbent upon you to tell me something more about these offers you know exist instead of pretending to be laughing. 

5 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Wow. I've so gotten into your head that you now think your thoughts are actually mine? LOL. Buy a guy a drink, first. 

The choice here seems to be that either Chris Getz and the entire White Sox front office are so completely in over their heads that they are regularly misjudging the market for Luis Robert, or Robert's their CF this off-season, and they'll move him for a non-trivial return. I can understand how breaking nonsensical narratives down to simple realities confounds you, since you're the one who has chastised the entire board for not being embarrassed enough that you thought Vinny Capra and Oliver Dunn are better players than Shane Smith because the Brewers rostered them while exposing Smith to the Rule 5 draft. 

I prefer to run with the explanation that requires fewer yoga classes for pretzel-shape twisting. 

Seriously, before you start typing "make it make sense", or "I'm just laughing at...", consider that for multiple trade deadlines and offseasons, the Sox have entertained trade talk for Robert, and wound up keeping him. A rational person might surmise that Getz looked at the offers and decided that plugging Robert back into CF is worth more to the team than the unsatisfactory package or return the market is offering. If you really think that Getz is receiving offers that are worth more than playing Robert, it's incumbent upon you to tell me something more about these offers you know exist instead of pretending to be laughing. 

Most GMs who sign players to keep them, make it clear to the marketplace, fans, and player that they are here to stay.  The only "nonsensical narratives" that need to end, are the ones that shift every debate to "what makes Getz look best".  

2 hours ago, WestEddy said:

I'm coming around to the thought that the White Sox aren't repeatedly marketing Robert and failing, but they made the decision that he's the best option as their CF, and if another team wants to change their plans, it's going to cost them. 

This, after signing Murakami it really made no sense to trade Robert. And if the Sox were to trade him for an underwhelming return and he explodes with a new team, I’ll speak for myself, I’d be pissed because we all knew what his potential is.